


To Obtain Infinite Power!

by actionpark52, shinydecamark



Series: The Infinite Power Saga [1]
Category: Kirby (Video Games), Kirby - All Media Types
Genre: Comedy, Comedy with a side of drama, Drama, Finiteverse, Gen, Headcanon, Mild Swearing, OC & Canon Backstory, Original Character-centric, Second-Hand Embarrassment, marx is incredibly petty, plus a few others - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:08:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 24,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24012598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/actionpark52/pseuds/actionpark52, https://archiveofourown.org/users/shinydecamark/pseuds/shinydecamark
Summary: A mysterious threat is approaching Dream Land, riding on the coattails of missing blueprints for a Clockwork Star....Okay, 'threat' is a strong word. Perhaps a more fitting description of this situation would be 'well-meaning idiot succumbs to evil clown peer pressure.'---Loosely adapted from the initial RP Finite was created for. (It was initially intended as a casefic-type situation to develop our Kirby character interpretations more, but things did... not pan out exactly as expected,)
Series: The Infinite Power Saga [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1731841
Comments: 6
Kudos: 14
Collections: The Finiteverse





	1. Prologue - The Star(?) Falls From Space

**Author's Note:**

> EDIT: Unofficial reading by Chingkittycat here! - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPF2enqr4vm1iyifhgIXE979kOlQ56qMT
> 
> shinydecamark: WELCOME TO OUR TWISTED MINDS... sorry. anyway i'll keep things brief. everything and everyone is a stupid mess! this fic is very important to me and i can barely believe it got finished at all... so! enjoy! or else 
> 
> \---
> 
> A new """"villain"""" sets a plan in motion... sort of.

\---

"Okay, just gotta put this piece here and tighten this screw..." a mysterious spherical cabbit clad in a green-and-pink cape mumbled to himself, tinkering with the mechanics of what appeared to be a bizarrely tiny Clockwork Star. He commented idly as he made adjustments, screwdriver held tightly in a gloved paw that floated separately from his body.

All around him, the stars of the Milky Way twinkled softly, though he didn’t seem bothered much by the fact that he was currently floating in space. There was only one planet particularly close by; a yellow, star-shaped planet with rings shimmering around it. This was planet Pop Star, though the stranger remained unaware, completely absorbed in the task at hand.

"And then I slot this in here-"

A second, much gravellier (and much ruder) voice interrupted the first, though the voice was heard only within the figure’s head. [SO ARE YOU GONNA LIKE. STOP TALKING TO YOURSELF, OR WHAT? ‘CAUSE YOU _CLEARLY_ AREN’T TALKING TO ME.]

The first paused at the interruption. "Well, I’m done now! Okay, _it’s_ done now, I mean. Look!!" He gestured towards the tiny Clockwork Star with a bit of pride, before twisting a turnkey on it’s back.

As the key turned, a dinky little music box tune played, and the Clockwork Star shuddered to life. Its eyes slowly opened, glowing sharply in the darkness of space. It took a few moments to look around, its expression completely unreadable for more reasons than its mechanical nature.

"YES!! My kitty works!" the figure exclaimed gleefully, instantly moving to pet the vaguely catlike robot orb.

The Clockwork Star floated backwards, ducking away from the petting. "Hello? What is my name?" it asked, in a voice that, while monotone, seemed almost... insulted.

"Oh- oh geez, I didn’t think that far!" the figure’s ears perked up with embarrassed surprise. "I... didn’t think about what I’d do when I got here. Okay, okay, how do people name Clockwork Stars... Wait, not many people have _made_ Clockwork Stars, huh..."

The tiny Clockwork Star silently narrowed its eyes.

"Okay, how about Shimmerrrrrr......uh... Shimmer Starlight? Shimmer Magic? Shimmer Paw?" the cabbit continued. The Clockwork Star shook its, er, entire body ‘no’ with each suggestion, with increasing irritation. Finally, the figure sighed. "I’ll... just think on it later. Is that alright with you?"

While the Clockwork Star didn’t reply, it made no objection.

[COULD YOU JUST GET ON WITH DOING WHAT YOU BUILT THIS THING FOR IN THE FIRST PLACE ALREADY?!] the voice in the figure’s head snapped.

"Hey, don’t be mean! I was naming my cat! It wouldn’t be fair to leave him without a name!" The figure answered offendedly, before pausing and remembering something. "Oh yeah, I completely forgot about that... hold on!" He turned to the Clockwork Star and took a deep breath.. "This’ll hopefully, probably, maybe, be the only wish I ask of you but... Shimmer Spiral, I wish for infinite power! ...For uh, villain reasons, I guess?"

Shimmer Dawn(?) hesitated briefly. "Sure, whatever." There was no countdown or buildup, simply a brief, anticlimactic rainbow flash of its eyes. "Your infinite power has been granted. Do what you want with it, meow."

The cabbit, with barely restrained excitement, rushed to test the powers by summoning a ball of energy in his paws. A tiny orb of flickering rainbow colors materialized, causing him to gasp. "Oh!! Okay!!!! It works!!! Thank you, Shimmer Undecided, this is epic!"

[AN EYE-BURNING MARBLE. INVIGORATING. THIS IS WHAT YOU’RE USING YOUR ‘INFINITE POWER’ FOR, HUH.] groaned the disembodied voice.

He played around with the ball of light like it was a rubber ball, ignoring the comment. He was too ecstatic at his newfound powers to care about their grumbling right now, playing catch with... himself. The Clockwork Star simply watched, a hint of boredom in its face. Suddenly, the cabbit froze in alarm as he accidentally tossed it with a bit too much strength, watching powerlessly (somehow) as it soared off in entirely the wrong direction and collided with an unidentifiable object. Said object proceeded to slam directly into Shimmer Miracle(?), sending him careening down towards the star-shaped planet.

"NO!!! SHIMMER.......!" The figure made an attempt to catch his creation, but it slipped right out of his grasp, for the most part. The only thing he found himself holding onto was the turnkey, and a greebled bit of metal with text engraved on it. "...’Haltmann Works Company(R) Space Junk™...? Includes built-in contact-activated magnets to maximize inconvenie-’ AUGH!" He casted aside the nondescript metallic object. He then glanced at the turnkey he held. "Well, at least I caught this... wait, no, that’s BAD!! If I have this, then Shimmer... Celeste must’ve deactivated!"

The disembodied voice cut in, sounding wholly unimpressed. [DON’T YOU HAVE INFINITE POWER? THAT COULD’VE BEEN REALLY EASILY PREVENTED. LIKE, REALLY, _REALLY_ EASILY.] The voice paused for a moment, thinking. [...actually. WHY WERE YOU DOING THIS IN THE MIDDLE OF SPACE IF THERE’S A PLANET RIGHT THERE?]

The cabbit paid the voice no heed, more focused on the fate of Shimmer Morning (?). "Well... at least he’s fireproof, so he shouldn’t burn up in the atmosphere..."

[...what???]

With a botched attempt at a fancy flourish that made the figure preeeeetty thankful almost no one else was there to see, he ventured downwards in the direction of Pop Star. "DON’T WORRY SHIMMER... WHATEVERYOURNAMEWILLBE, I’LL FIND YOU, OKAY?? OR ELSE MY NAME ISN’T FINITE-" (He pronounced the word ‘finite’ completely wrong- rather, he said it in the way one would say ‘minute,’)

[I HOPE YOU REALIZE HOW STUPID YOU SOUNDED SAYING THAT.]

"It... it was supposed to be dramatic!! Like, if I’m going to be evil and all-"

[WELL. IT SOUNDED BAD.]

"...it’s your fault I even said that out loud, Dark Infinity!"

[MAYBE IF YOUR _THOUGHTS_ WEREN’T SO STUPID...]

Choosing not to respond, Finite flew down off into the atmosphere of Pop Star to seek out his fallen Clockwork Star, using his newfound power to track Shimmer Reality(?)’s location. Powers or no powers, he could already tell that it was going to be a long day...


	2. Chapter 1 - New 'Friend,' Old 'Friend'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marx's boring day is interrupted by a familiar face from his past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shinydecamark: MARX TIME. sorry in advance for this stupid rude interpretation of this clown. i love to write him but he sucks. also things get STARTED 
> 
> glossary-  
> Nyin - a race of spherical animal-like aliens hailing from Summertime Star. notably, Finite and Gryll are both Nyins (cabbit and husky, respectively) while Marx is half-Nyin (jackal), half-Noddy.

Marx aimlessly strolled through a forest (it PROBABLY had a name, but he didn’t care,) sulking and grumbling. Things were so BORING in Dream Land when there wasn’t some terrible incident going on, and it wasn’t like he even usually got _invited_ to the terrible incidents either! There was the thing with the Jambastion, but... he’d pretty much decided to himself that that whole experience just sucked.

Did it have to be so PEACEFUL here all the time?! Around him, little butterflies in pinks and purples fluttered around carelessly, a group of Waddle Dees played tag cheerily, and even _WHISPY WOODS_ OF ALL PEOPLE was acting like some sorta PACIFIST. No _murderizing_ in SIGHT! Marx kicked a pebble to the side with an overexaggerated sigh, trying to make it blatantly obvious to anyone who was watching that he was VERY, VERY BORED. He needed SOMEONE (other than himself) to acknowledge his plight.

As if the pebble gods decided to inflict him with laser-guided karma, he immediately found himself smacked into the ground by something falling from the sky and colliding with him violently. His head throbbing with pain, he stumbled upwards and muttered a few swears under his breath, before breaking into an angered shout. "WHO THREW THAT AT ME? I SWEAR I’M GONNA-..."

His voice broke off as he glanced down at whatever it’d been that hit him. Some kind of... toy Clockwork Star, or something? Weird thing to use as a projectile weapon. It looked broken, too, probably from crashing into his very cool and powerful and unbreakable body. Whatever, that wasn’t as important. "ANYWAY, I SWEAR I’M GONNA INVERT WHOEVER THREW THIS AT ME!! AND THEN I’LL THROW YOU INTO A GARBAGE COMPACTOR AND THEN THROW THE GARBAGE COMPACTOR INTO A VOLCANO AND THEN I’LL THROW THE _VOLCANO INTO A-_ "

A distant - but not too distant, maybe more of a medium amount of distant - voice Marx couldn’t recognize from afar called back in response, cutting Marx off (Marx assumed that they probably didn’t know what he exactly said, else they wouldn’t’ve made the grave mistake of interrupting him.) "HEY, UH, I THOUGHT I HEARD A VOICE, SO, UH, IF ANYONE’S THERE, PLEASE UNHAND MY CAT!! I NEED TO REPAIR HIM!!!"

Marx wasn’t really interested in... whatever/whoever that was had to say. "COULD I _PLEASE_ FINISH MY FANTASTIC THREAT OF GRIEVOUS INJURY-" He stopped dead mid-sentence when the owner of the voice arrived in front of him, clearly out of breath. A light blue-purple (blurple?)-furred cabbit Nyin with unkept curly cyan hair, looking completely frazzled at the moment... _Wait. That’s not... Yeah, no, it couldn’t be. That’s... that’s a different hairstyle._

However, any pretense of badly pretending this was a complete stranger was shattered when he heard the newcomer’s voice up close. "...Marx!?"

"Wait- Jakayde?!?!"

Before Marx had the chance to react, Jakayde ran forward and hugged him, which was pretty weird to do with floating paws that had no actual arms attached. "OH MY GOD MARX I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU SINCE COLLEGE AND I TRIED TO CALL YOU A BUNCH OF TIMES- did you actually get any of them??? Did- did I keep calling the wrong number!?" Jakayde continued his ramble so quickly and breathlessly that Marx barely caught any of it, switching topics at a breakneck pace. Finally, he paused to breathe, speaking more calmly. "Oh, by the way! I don’t actually use the name 'Jakayde' much anymore... I go by Finite now!"

Marx’s head raced, just barely keeping up with the situation. He had a lot on his mind, for sure. _Oh, I have a LOT to say to you, BUDDY._ Marx prepared to snap at him- though, Finite continued speaking before he could get a word in.

"Ohhh MAN, there’s so much we need to catch up on... though I gotta repair my cat first real quick, alrighty?"

Marx glanced down at the Clockwork Star... toy? "Wait- this thing?" _Kinda looks like junk. What would a toy Clockwork Star do, anyway? Roll around? Be useless? Crash into a toy planet? ...actually that last one would be kinda funny, but like, in a terrible way._

"YES, THANK YOU! I’m guessing you caught him or something? Anyway, his name’s Shimmer-... Well, we haven’t figured out the other half of his name, but we're workshopping it!" Finite picked up the Clockwork Star carefully, though it didn’t do much of... anything. Because it was broken. Duh. "Hmm... looks like he's mostly good, just gotta reattach the wind-up thingy..." Then he paused with realization and facepalmed with a groan. "...OH CRAP, I LEFT MY TOOLS IN SPACE!"

Marx’d had enough. He wanted an explanation; about Finite, not whatever this weird toy thing was about. If Finite was a toymaker now, good for him but Marx literally _could not care less_ about that. "FINITE. I have not processed a _single_ thing that's happened in the past five minutes. I don’t CARE about your weird toy Clockwork Star Shimmer _Whatever_ . All I want is for _you_ to tell _me_ WHY you are _here._ "

"I mean, he's not a toy... and I came here because he got hit by space junk and crashed here!"

"...Space junk."

"Yeah! Branded as such and everything!"

"That is... really stupid. Finite, that's _stupid_."

Completely and unsurprisingly, Marx’s point flew right over Finite’s head. "No, space projectiles are serious business! Trust me, I’d know. Unless you mean it’s stupid that someone would brand space junk, in _which case_ I totally agree-"

"-UGH ENOUGH ABOUT SPACE JUNK!!!" _Also, I HIGHLY doubt you know more about space projectiles than ME. I’ve BEEN a space projectile!_ "Could you just tell me WHAT you're doing?! Just like, in general?!"

"Well, right now I'm trying to repair Shimmer Comet- Shimmer Melody...? Shimmer- ...anyway! I built him and wished for infinite power, sooooo... I can do basically whatever I want now! I think."

Marx stared blankly. "I do NOT believe you for even a second." Was Finite serious? Was he actually, honest-to-god _serious?_ Or did he just take Marx to be _that much_ of an idiot? _Wouldn’t be surprised._

"Wait, hold on! I can just show you!" Then, he snapped his fingers and the sky turned into a storm of flashy, incredibly blinding rainbow strobe lights. "AAAAHHH- OKAY, TURNING THAT OFF TURNING THAT OFF-!!!!!!" With a second, much more frantic snap, the sky returned to normal, as if nothing had even happened.

Marx took a moment to realize his mouth was agape, and quickly shut it because he did NOT want Finite knowing he’d just managed to catch Marx off-guard. _Well, that could just be one power. I mean, I have LOTS of weird powers! That doesn't mean Finite ACTUALLY built a functional but also really tiny Clockwork Star. And then used it to wish for infinite power. I REFUSE to believe this._ He put his thoughts to words very eloquently. "YEAH, BIG DEAL! _I’VE_ GOT POWERS."

"Oh! You have infinite power too?" Finite asked, sounding completely genuine (which, quite frankly, only kinda pissed Marx off more.)

"...yes." That was a blatant lie. "But either way, there’s no way YOU have infinite power! You probably just have a... finite amount of powers!" (Marx _also_ pronounced the word ‘finite’ completely wrong.)

"Well, I mean, if they’re my powers then of course they’d be Finite! ...Wait. Wait, no, I just realized- man. Man, I really screwed up with my name!" He sighed. "But I've had it for a while now, and I don't wanna change it over this..."

"Did... did you seriously not realize...?"

"Well, it was like... taken from the word ‘infinite,’ - but without the ‘in’ - and I forgot that’d make it the opposite!" Finite sounded kinda dejected over this, but attempted to brush the topic aside. "Um... that aside. I mean, I can't really _show_ you that I have infinite power because it’s an... infinite amount of possible powers. That’s the definition, y’know! So, uhhh... I guess you’ll just have to take my word for it? I mean, when I repair Shimmer Whisper he could confirm it!"

Marx weighed his options before deciding he'd play along with this... whatever this was. "Okay, fine. If, by some stretch of the imagination, you _actually_ have infinite power, then what’ve you even been doing with it?"

Finite sat there for a moment, looking thoughtful in the kind of way that shows someone actually had no idea what they were doing. "Uhhh... I think I’m evil now, I guess? I mean, I’m trying to prove to... a guy, that I’m better at being evil than him, but..."

"Wait. Who?" _Did... did Finite join a gang or something?!?_

"My freaky evil brain ghost!"

"Your _freaky evil brain ghost._ " _Why did I even humor the IDEA of taking him seriously._

Finite chose not to elaborate, presumably because he didn’t feel like expanding the really stupid lie or something. "Buuuut yeah, I haven't really had any ideas, so right now I'm just kinda trying to figure out _what_ to do. I mean, I can do just about anything now, I think, so it's not that I don't have a lot of options..." As he spoke, he tried to tinker with Shimmer Noname(?). "Oh, I still have my screwdriver... maybe I could just... put the wind-y thing back in?" He turned the toy over, holding a turnkey in paw over a slot its back.

_Called it. He has no idea what he's doing. He probably didn't even MAKE the thing-_ Marx was startled by a click sounding as the windup mechanism popped back into place.

"There we go!" Finite said with a satisfied grin. He wound it up (accompanied by a little jack-in-the-box tune) and lo and behold, Shimmer [REDACTED](?) awakened. 

"Dear god, don't tell me that actually WORKED." Marx felt his eye twitch involuntarily from shock.

Shimmer Twinkle(?) glanced over at Marx, with a look that was very unsettlingly disdainful for a tiny Clockwork Star. (Not that Marx would ever admit he was unsettled. Because he wasn’t. Obviously.) "Meow, I'm right here, yes. Who are you?"

Finite quickly got to explaining (...for once in his life) cheerfully. "Oh! That's my old college roomie, Marx! Marx, meet Shimmer... uh..."

Marx would’ve picked up Shimmer [DATA EXPUNGED](?) if he had arms to do so with, but unfortunately he did not, so instead he just kinda stepped in front of Finite, scrutinizing the weird cat orb he held. "Okay. Is this a joke? I'm a clown, I know a joke when I see one."

"Hey, don’t be mean, that's my cat!! He's not a joke!" He pet Shimmer Mystery(?) with an offended look, and Marx could swear Shimmer Whatevertheheck(?) shot _both_ of them a glare. "And if you're asking if he can grant wishes, he can- that's how I got my infinite power! But, uh... I told him I'd only ever need him to grant one wish. I mean, if you ask, he might grant you one, but he doesn't _have_ to! And if you do, you'd better ask nicely, okay?!" 

Marx was guessing by this point that the phrase ‘infinite power’ was gonna stop feeling like a real phrase preeetty soon. He also had so little faith that this could work, that it probably went into like, negative amounts of faith. "Okay. Cool. Well, I want to take over Pop Star!"

Shimmer Dimension(?) looked him straight in the eye. "No." Even by robot standards, his voice was flat.

"See- I knew this was bogus!" Marx snapped.

"Actually, I just think your wish is stupid, lol. Come back when you have a better wish, shorty."

"WH- I’M TALLER THAN YOU!!!!!!!" Marx huffed and turned away. _At least_ I _have feet, instead of just being some- limbless... circle thing! That also is very small! Smaller than a beach ball! I am NOT smaller than a beach ball!!!!!!_ "What _ever_. Finite, how about you go take your Shimmer- ...something, and get outta my face?!"

Finite’s ears drooped sadly. "...oh. Um. I. I actually kinda... wanted to reconnect with you, c-considering... It's been five years-"

"Well, buddy, FIVE YEARS was long enough for me to realize I _don't care!_ You can go do your own thing, just _don't_ involve me."

".....okay..." Finite sighed, looking down at Shimmer Rainbow(?). "Um. I... guess we need to go, then." 

Shimmer Insertwordhere(?) immediately rolled out of Finite’s paws and into the grass, where he just laid there. "Meow. I like the view here. I'm not getting out of this spot."

Marx mused over the situation with burning resentment. _Finite finally shows up after all this time, then it turns out he’s completely nuts... and also thinks he can act all buddy-buddy with me?_

Finite was attempting to pick up Shimmer Whocares(?). "Shimmer, please, we... really need to go, Marx is mad at us,"

_Actually, he’s not even ACKNOWLEDGING what he did! Maybe if he said like, ‘forgive and forget’ or something else dumb like that, I wouldn’t be so mad - wouldn’t forgive or forget though lol - but he’s just acting oblivious!!_

"How are you even clinging to the ground?? You don’t have paws!?!" followed by more aggravated, digitized hissing.

_Five years, man, come ON! Did he run away JUST to build some stupid tiny Clockwork Star? Why would anyone even WANT one of those?! They suck! They do NOT live up to the hype! And this one in specific is super annoying!_

"Meow. Continue trying to relocate me, and you’ll regret it. I will achieve paws, and I will scratch you with them."

_But, at the same time... if Finite actually has ‘infinite power’ or even anything close to that, that’s a big opportunity I shouldn’t waste... But also there’s NO way that’s a real Clockwork Star! ...But... what if...?? And I guess if he’s just lying, I could use this as a way to get back at him..._

Finally, Marx broke out of his thoughts, stepping over. "Alright, Finite, you got me. Tell ya what- I'll give you a second chance. We can hang out, y’know, like good old college buddies! I could even give you some advice - from one baddie to another!" If this were anyone but Finite, Marx would’ve doubted he’d accept this flip-flop without question. But this was Finite he was talking to, of course.

As expected, Finite’s ears perked up with excitement. "Really!? Thank you thank you thank you thank you!!!" He hugged Marx again, backing off sheepishly when Marx kicked himself out of Finite’s grasp. "Oh man oh man, I can’t wait to catch up- wait, 'baddie?' ...You're evil too?"

"OHHHH NO, NO, I’M NOT _EVIL_ ." Marx quickly corrected. "I USED to be evil, but now I'm officially reformed, y’see! And, besides, there's _nothing_ evil about giving a few _suggestions!_ I mean, I'm not doing anything myself, I’m just talking!" Marx smirked mischievously.

Finite appeared briefly put-off but immediately moved on. "Oh! Okay! So, uh... what now?"

"I'm kiiinda tired of just standing out here having this conversation. Why be here in the middle of nowhere talking about pointless stuff when instead we could be _scheming?_ "

"Oh yeah, good point!" Finite paused. "...Where do we go, though? I don't have a house." He said this with alarming nonchalance.

Marx found himself caught off guard again, but this time for a very different reason than the previous several times. _Is Finite just like, homeless?_ "Um. I... I guess I could invite you to my house?? _Don’t_ make me regret this."

"Alrighty!! Let’s go, Shimmer... Something!"

Shimmer Something bizarrely didn’t object, either to being asked to move or to possibly one of the worst name suggestions yet. "Fine. But he better have a really good fish tank with him. Meow." He stopped pressing himself into the grass with incredible force.

Marx blinked in confusion. "What- Why??"

"Tch. Of course YOU wouldn't get it." Shimmer Something muttered darkly, before being lifted by Finite. Marx just decided to pay it no heed, it was probably some kinda weird... cat... robot orb thing???

And so, the odd trio set off towards Marx’s house, an awkward lack of conversation falling over them. _..._ _And so, my plan begins,_ Marx thought to himself.


	3. Chapter 2 - Clownspiring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At Marx's house, the duo concoct an evil plan (of sorts.) Dark Infinity complains.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shinydecamark: in my humble opinion the description of marx's house is our magnum opus. also i wish i could handwrite in comic sans

Finite withheld a sigh of relief when they finally reached Marx's house, the awkward silence having pressed down on him pretty hard. It was a simple little house, decorated with faux-caution tape and a sign hanging on the door that read 'BEWARE OF CLOWN.' in rainbow marker.

Like always, Dark Infinity felt the need to complain. [OOOOH, I CAN TELL THIS GUY'S GONNA BE A _REAL_ PIECE OF WORK. 'BEWARE OF CLOWN?' IN RAINBOW COMIC SANS? SERIOUSLY?]

Finite blinked. _Actually, I'm pretty sure that's just how his handwriting looks..._

Marx walked up alongside Finite, wearing an incredibly smug and confident smirk. "What's the matter? Humbled by my incredible digs?" His cocky tone suddenly went flat. "Well, don't touch that. Last time someone touched the sign, the marker smeared and I had to put a sticky note over it because it looked like it said 'BEWARE _OR_ CLOWN.'"

"Wait, what'd you say, I zoned out-" Finite said jumbledly as he realized Marx was talking to him.

"-Nevermind. Just get in." Marx kicked the door open, and Finite flinched as he heard the sound of a violent slam accompanied by shattering glass. "...I meant to do that."

Glancing around, Finite could tell most of Marx's essential furniture was packed into this one room. It _was_ a pretty small house, after all. The walls were lined with shelves packed with all manner of clown-related memorabilia, and sitting at the back of the room there was a closet - door ajar - overflowing with beach balls that seemed about to tumble into the room at any moment.

On the right side of the room, a rectangular mirror rested sloppily against the wall, with **'REMINDER: DAB ON THE HATERS, MARX!'** scribbled near the top in colorful (but poorly written) crayon lettering. Both corners of the mirror were being used as a place for Marx to hang a myriad of (mostly identical or near-identical) jester hats, though it was easy to tell he was trying to hang far too many in the same spot as it seemed there were more that had fallen on the floor than stayed in place.

Then, glancing to his left, Finite noticed a desk and a laptop, still wide open and running. He caught a short glance of the current page; it looked to be... a chat client? He managed to read the words, _'_ **sexyarmshaver666: babe, im so glad we both definitely have arms and i'm not some freaky little orb clown ;)** _'_ before Marx dashed over and frantically shut the laptop with his foot.

"HEY HEY HEY, DON'T LOOK AT THAT!" Marx shouted intensely, before taking a deep breath and trying to immediately move on from that- presumably before Finite could ask any questions.. "Anyway. How do you like my place? It's pretty epic, if I do say so myself." He spoke with maybe-exaggerated pride, but took a quick turn for the harsh. "...don't make yourself at home because this is my house and you are NOT staying here."

Finite grasped to find something nice to say. "Um... It's... certainly... unique? I mean, I like the clowns,"

[IT SUCKS.] added Dark Infinity - though well aware that only Finite could hear him. Unfortunately, his comment prompted the same thought from Finite himself, and before Finite could think much about it he felt the familiar twinge of Dark Infinity's powers taking influence.

"...it sucks." Finite echoed quietly and impulsively. _Please tell me he didn't hear that, please tell me he didn't hear that, please tell me he didn't-_

"WOW! _You_ suck!" snapped Marx in reply, having definitely heard it. "Give me one good reason not to kick you out right now!"

"AAAHH, I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T MEAN IT! I JUST- I said it without thinking! Your house is really cool, Marx!" yelped Finite in panic. _Thanks a LOT, Dark Infinity..._

Dark Infinity chuckled, clearly having too much fun with this. [HEY. IT WAS YOUR OPINION, NOT MINE. WELL, OKAY, I GUESS IT WAS ALSO _MY_ OPINION, BUT- YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!]

Marx gave Finite a deadpan look of disbelief, but didn't say anything. Instead, he paid more attention to Shimmer Something, who had made a pile of Marx's hats into an impromptu cat bed. "Shimmer Something, get out of my hats."

"No." he replied with a yawn, not even passing Marx a glance.

"I am making a WISH for you to get out of my hats."

"How many cat treats you got?"

Finite decided he'd rather interrupt before things escalated. He really wasn't sure how to handle his old college buddy trying to argue with his cat... "Um, Shimmer... Something, Marx is already angry enough as is... Could you please relocate...?"

After a few unexpectedly uncomfortable moments of silence, Shimmer Something sighed. "Hmmm. Fine. **3... 2... 1... GO!** " After his countdown, Marx's hats vanished for a brief instant only to appear a couple feet away from him. "Just know I only granted that to flex on Marx. Meow."

 _Did Shimmer Something add in a countdown this time just to be flashier about it...?_ Finite thought to himself. _Well, I guess it worked..._ He cast a glance over to Marx, who was staring wide-eyed.

"You've gotta be kidding- that thing doesn't ACTUALLY work, does it!?" Marx stammered, looking frantically between Finite and Shimmer Something. "You don't _really_ have...!?"

"Um, I already told you he's a real Clockwork Star... he's much smaller than most, but he's still very much a Clockwork Star!" Finite tried to explain, for maybe the third or fourth time. "...but he's also my cat, and I treasure him!"

"I don't appreciate being condescended to, you know." Shimmer Something added - though it was unclear whom this statement was directed towards.

Marx took a while to respond, just standing there and blinking. Then, he pulled Finite close and muttered "Okay, okay. He seems to listen to you. I need you to wish for something _GOOD_."

"Isn't infinite power a good wish?" asked Finite, tilting his head. _I thought that would be like, the best possible wish... I mean, it's like all of the wishes in one, right?_

"No, you don't get it! I need to MAKE SURE this is totally, 100% real. ANYONE can teleport stuff if they just try hard enough." Marx hissed intensely, voice more serious than Finite'd ever heard Marx in his life.

"Really? Woah..." Finite found himself instead distracted and overly excited about the idea that anyone can teleport stuff if they try. _So if I just tried hard enough, then I could-_

[REMINDER THAT YOU WISHED FOR INFINITE POWER.] Dark Infinity grumbled.

"...Finite, you're getting sidetracked here." Marx deadpanned, before resuming his previous intensity. "What I need you to do is FIRST, go up to that Clockwork Star. And THEN? Ask him to grant me arms." He leaned in closer, his eyes narrowed. " _Sexy_ ones."

Finite hesitated. "Um... I don't know, I said I'd only have him grant the one wish..."

"He granted an extra wish when you told him to get out of the hats!" Marx pointed out. "It should be fiiiine, now would you _just hurry up and do it_!?"

"Aaaah- uh- okay, okay!" Finite hastily replied.

[...SO _THIS_ IS THE GUY YOU TRIED TO CALL LIKE. A ZILLION BILLION TIMES FOR FIVE YEARS?] commented Dark Infinity, unwelcome as ever.

Finite glanced away from Marx awkwardly, not really wanting to continue making eye contact while talking to his freaky evil brain ghost. _Umm... yes... He's my friend!_

[WOW. AND I THOUGHT YOU COULDN'T BE ANY MORE OF A PUSHOVER.]

_Wh- hey! I'm not a pushover! I mean, I'm evil now! And stuff._

"...Finite you're just like, standing there. Are you going to make my wish, or what?" Marx said suddenly, interrupting Finite's thought process.

"OH! UH! Sorry! Spaced out again, that's all!" Finite squeaked, hurriedly stepping over to where Shimmer Something was laying on the floor before Marx had the chance to reply. "Um... Okay, I'm really sorry to ask you this, because I know I said I hopefully would only need you to grant one wish, but... Marx wants you to prove you can grant wishes by... giving him arms?" He paused for a moment. "He specified for them to be sexy but I... do not know what that entails for him."

"I DIDN'T TELL YOU TO SAY ALL THAT!" shouted Marx from across the room.

"Oh. Um. Oops."

Shimmer Something yawned and rolled upright. "Wasn't teleporting his stuff proof enough? Meow. Whatever. **3... 2... 1... GO!** " With a shimmer of colorful magic, two slinkies with silly floating boxing gloves attached to the end appeared, affixed to Marx's sides.

"OHHHH MY GOODNESS, THEY'RE INCREDIBLE!" gasped Finite in awe.

Marx gazed at them in shock, before attempting a flex. It didn't really work out at all because it was a slinky, but he was impressed all the same. "WHAT THE HELL... THEY'RE AMAZING, ACTUALLY!?"

Shimmer Something's eye visibly twitched. "Those... weren't supposed to be good, meow."

"What are you TALKING about?! They're super cool!" Finite said, glancing at his own floating paws. "Oh man... now I kinda wish _I_ had slinky arms."

"UUUUGH. **3... 2... 1... GO.** " Shimmer Something groaned, and with a similar magical glow slinkies suddenly connected Finite's paws to his body.

Finite took a second to process that the change had even happened. "Huh...? W-WAIT! OH NO, SHIMMER SOMETHING, I WASN'T MAKING YOU GRANT THAT!" He sighed apologetically and racked his brain to figure out how to make up for it. "Um, uh- do _you_ want arms?"

"Not like those," muttered Shimmer Something. "Though I'm _physically incapable_ of granting my own wishes, so I couldn't anyway." How did a voice so monotone sound so _bitter?_

"Well, uh... then _I_ wish for you to you have whatever sort of limbs you want!"

Shimmer Something blinked. "...Meow. Okay. **3... 2... 1... GO!** " Then, in a third (and much flashier) jolt of light, a single pair of cat legs appeared on Shimmer Something, as well as cat ears and a tail. Immediately, he got to sitting down with his new legs.

"There we go!" declared Finite proudly. "So, Marx, do you believe us now?"

Marx, however, wasn't paying even the slightest bit of attention. Instead, he was repeatedly rearranging the numerous items on his shelves with his newfound hands. "Ehehehehehehe!" he giggled maniacally. "I can reach my shelves~ I haven't arranged these since I put 'em up here!"

Finite was about to ask if Marx heard him, but then he found a different question much, MUCH more pressing. "...how did you get them on the shelves in the first place?"

Marx briefly turned to him with a grim expression. "You don't wanna know." Just as quickly, he returned to his joyous frenzy. "Ahahahahaha! No more kicking open my door and breaking stuff! No more having to wait for the operator to buckle me in on roller coasters! No more catfishing people about having cool sexy arms! It ain't catfishing if I HAVE the arms, now is it~? Heeheeheeheehee...!"

Finite tried and completely failed to process everything Marx just said, one sentence at a time. "Wait, you said you broke the thing earlier on purpose- roller coasters- CATFISHING- HUH?"

Marx cleared his throat in a very interrupting-y manner. "-Ignore that. Look. Life is hard when you're a stubby little clown ball with no hands, no arms, and no legs - just feet. I have my freaky wings, but-" With a fade-in of a strange multicolored thorn effect, odd and clawed golden-color 'wings' appeared on Marx's sides above his new arms. Below the 'framework' of the wings, shapes in different rainbow colors sparkled in and out of sight. "-well, they're not arms."

"I... do not remember you having those," mumbled Finite with slight alarm. _What... what even happened while I was gone? Where did Marx get weird magic rainbow golden claw wings? Do... do those even really count as wings? They don't look like wings THAT much-_

Possibly out of annoyance towards Finite's rambling and baffled train of thought, Dark Infinity decided to break his own silence to complain. [GOD, THIS GUY'S SUCH A BABY. I DON'T EVEN HAVE _FEET,_ BUT YOU DON'T SEE _ME_ WHINING ABOUT IT.]

 _Dark Infinity, I am already trying to parse a_ lot _right now and I really don't need you adding anything..._ protested Finite, though knowing it was in vain. _...also, you DO whine about that!_

[DO NOT.]

_Do too!_

[DO NOT.]

_Dark Infinity, I'm not having this kind of conversation with you again for the million billion jillionth time._

While Finite had his little 'argument' with Dark Infinity and likely just appeared to the world like he was spacing out in shock, Marx vanished away his wings with the same strange and unnatural-looking cutout effect they materialized with. "I have those wings because I am cool and scary and have epic powers." Marx confidently "explained".

"Woah..." Finite was jolted back to reality, and thankfully able to focus on how impressed he was by Marx's weird wings. "I guess we really do both have neat abilities!" _Noooot really what I was expecting but this is super exciting!_

"Psssshhhhh. You were doubting me?" Marx then immediately changed topics. "Anyway. You wanna hear my idea, or what?"

"Oh! Oh yeah! I almost forgot about that!"

"Whatever. Alright, alright, SO. You see Shimmer Something over there?"

 _Is that really just his name now...?_ "Uh, Yeah?"

"Well. You wanna be evil, right? Well, we can use him to take over the planet!" Marx slid closer to Finite, though misjudged the sliding distance slightly due to being unused to his new arms, resulting in lightly punching Finite in the side. He paid it no heed and continued, his voice taking on an ominous tone. "Do NOT directly wish to take over. Trust me, won't end well."

Finite blinked, feeling a bead of anxiety well up- though he was mostly just confused. "What do you mean...?"

"I don't know if you've NOTICED," Marx glanced back at Shimmer Something (who was currently just lounging and grooming himself), "but Clockwork Stars are kinda a big deal. We'd just have to roll up to some hapless town, tell 'em we got a Clockwork Star, and if they don't comply, they'll regret it! Easy peasy."

Finite found himself hesitating. _I'm... not sure I really wanna go out and threaten a bunch of people? It's not like I'd actually be willing to do anything to them if they DIDN'T just go along with it, either... And I feel like I'd be kinda exploiting Shimmer Something a little bit, which wouldn't be fair to him!_ "...I dunno, doesn't that sound a bit mean?"

"Aren't you trying to be evil?" deadpanned Marx.

"Oh! Yeah!" _Oh. Right. That's part of the definition, huh._

Marx silently glared at Finite in disappointment.

Finite decided to just break the silence himself. "Still... it feels weird to make Shimmer Something do this for us, y'know? I mean- I don't think I could take over with my infinite power on its own, but that doesn't mean we make _him_ do it!"

"Y-. I'm sorry. Could you go back and think about what you just said for a moment?"

Finite paused for a bit. "Yeah? What about it?"

"I want you to think _long_ and _hard_ about how stupid that previous sentence was."

After another brief contemplation, Finite shrugged. "I don't get it?"

[I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M SAYING THIS, BUT I'M WITH THE HORRIBLE IDIOT CLOWN ON THIS ONE.] Dark Infinity added. He was promptly ignored.

Marx twitched, balling his new hands into fists and giving a look of pure disbelief. "If you have _INFINITE POWER_ that means you have the power to do _ANYTHING_ because it's _infini_ -OH NEVERMIND!"

"OOOHH, I see what you're getting at- I know that! But like, it could be one of those situations where if you're not specific enough about exactly what you want, it could end up messing a lot up, you know!" Finite explained easily. _Like a genie in one of those TV shows with the moral where it's like, careful what you wish for! But I guess this wouldn't be a wish because it's just my powers, but I got them FROM a wish so maybe they work like that anyway!_

[I AM GETTING SECONDHAND EMBARRASSMENT JUST FROM HEARING YOUR THOUGHTS.] Dark Infinity complained. [YOU SHOULD BE THANKFUL THIS WEIRD LITTLE JESTER MAN YOU CALL A 'FRIEND' CAN'T HEAR YOU BECAUSE I THINK HE'D MAUL YOU FOR BEING THIS MUCH OF A STUPID DUMB-DUMB.]

_Dude, you're literally not adding anything to the conversation. I mean I know Marx can't hear you, but at least you could say something insightful._

[MY INSULTS ARE _VERY_ INSULTFUL! -I MEAN, INSIGHTFUL.]

Marx had needed a minute to actually take in Finite's very reasonable and logical explanation for why he couldn't use his limitless power to take over the world. He then let out a loud and miserable groan. "You know what. Fine. Whatever you say." Seemingly shaking off his frustration, he then grabbed a pen and paper. "Let's just get to planning, shall we?" His annoyance faded a bit as he clicked the pen a couple times with his new hand, giggling ecstatically.

"Okay!" agreed Finite, thankful for the topic change. He sat down by the paper and reached into the magical hammerspace within his cape, pulling out a pen. It was one of those fun novelty pens that was flamingo-shaped!

Marx rattled off idea after idea, though immediately wrote them down without any second opinion. Finite wasn't sure he could've provided much input though anyway, as Dark Infinity had chosen now of all times to break his focus completely.

[SO. AS I WAS SAYING. YOU'RE _REALLY_ FRIENDS WITH THIS LOSER, HUH? NOT SURPRISED, HONESTLY.] Dark Infinity began, unprompted and quite frankly unwanted.

 _Could you_ please _stop insulting people you barely know?_

[OKAY. STUPIDFACE.]

_THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT! And my face isn't stupid...!_

[HAHA, WHAT EVERRRR. ANYWAY. HOW'D YOU EVEN, LIKE, TALK TO THIS GUY FOR MORE THAN TWO SECONDS? GENUINE QUESTION HERE. HE SEEMS COMPLETELY INSUFFERABLE IN EVERY WAY.]

Finite glanced over towards Marx (still scribbling plans with untamed fury), seeking something more interesting to pay attention to so he could ignore Dark Infinity. Glancing over the paper, he saw Marx in the middle of writing, ' **STEP 48. FINITE PROBABLY WON'T READ THIS FAR LMAO XD.** '

 _Hm. That distraction backfired!_ Finite very deliberately looked away, and instead tried to answer the question. _Well, like I said, we were pals in college- okay, we also knew each other in elementary, but that maybe doesn't really count? After elementary, I didn't see him again until we both ended up at the same college._

[WHAT, DID YOU ROOM WITH HIM OR SOMETHING?]

_Yeah! It was pretty cool, actually._

[OH, SO THAT'S WHY YOU'RE COMPLETELY LOOPY.]

_W-what? Hey! No! Also, I'm not 'loopy'... if anything you are because your weird squiggle aesthetic is kind of like loops!_

[THAT... THAT'S SO INANE I DON'T KNOW HOW TO REPLY TO IT.]

_Well, that's fine! I would much prefer if you stopped talking!_

[SOMEONE'S GOTTEN AWFUL COCKY.]

Finite would've shot a glare at Dark Infinity, if said freaky evil brain ghost was anywhere in physical space instead of just... currently an intangible presence in Finite's head. _I mean, I have infinite power now! I can do basically whatever I want!_

[YEAH, YEAH. INFINITE POWER, SHMINFINITE. ...SHMOW...ER... -ugh, pretend you didn't hear that. POINT IS. DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT SO-CALLED "INFINITE" POWER'S GONNA DO YOU ANY GOOD? I'D BET 20 BUCKS IT ISN'T EVEN INFINITE.]

_Huh...? But you saw what I did earlier- what with the strobe lights 'n' everything! Shimmer Something granted these powers, and he's a Clockwork Star and all!_

Dark Infinity was quiet for a few moments, before bursting into a laugh that was probably meant to sound evil but was kinda just more annoying than anything. [HA! HAHAHAHAHA! YOU CALL NEARLY BURNING OUT YOUR OWN EYES IMPRESSIVE? _I_ COULD DO THAT IF I TRIED HARD ENOUGH. HONESTLY? THAT 'CLOCKWORK STAR' OF YOURS PROBABLY COULDN'T EVEN _GRANT_ A WISH OF THAT CALIBER. HE'S A DEFECTIVE CLOCKWORK STAR FOR... UH... A STUPID IDIOT! YEAH! A DEFECTIVE CLOCKWORK STAR FOR A STUPID IDIOT.]

 _Wh- HEY! Stop being so mean to Shimmer Something! He didn't even do anything to you!_ Finite crossed his arms, upset.

[WELL, MAYBE _YOU_ SHOULD LEARN TO STOP TALKING FOR ONCE. BECAUSE YOU'RE STUPID. (AND DUMB.)]

Finite's ears drooped, unable to counter. _But- I..._

Suddenly, Finite realized Marx was waving a hand in his face, snapping him back to reality. Marx looked pissed-off somewhat, but mostly just... kinda puzzled. "HEY! You've been staring into space and idly gesturing at me like a freak for the past probably-five minutes!" Even as he spoke, he continued to write down ideas, barely even looking at the paper.

"WAH-" Finite hopped to his feet, startled. He realized abruptly that he: 1. was crossing his arms, and 2. his arms were currently slinkies. The weird slinky-arms were now completely entangled, and in his attempt to regain his bearings and untangle his arms, he tripped and fell on his face. "I'm okay...!" he mumbled dizzily.

"R.I.P!" called Shimmer Something (pronouncing it as the _word_ 'rip') from across the room, sounding completely uninterested.

Marx paid no heed to Finite's stumble (or Shimmer Something's remark), instead holding up the paper in Finite's face. "I finished writing the plan myself. While you were _zoning out_." He said, somewhat sourly.

Finite stumbled back up, finally yanking his tangled slinky-arms separate - and deeply thankful that the motion of doing so didn't hurt, because if it did that would've been a very stupid decision. With that out of the way, he looked down at the paper. "Oh," He could barely read Marx's handwriting to begin with, as it seemed sloppy even compared to his usual - _Actually, since he didn't have hands until now, was it mouthwriting before? I mean I know that's how he did it and all but I am just realizing now that 'handwriting' would be a misnomer here- I am getting distracted!_ \- but even despite the handwriting, the "plan" was near-indecipherable.

The first several steps made relative sense, involving the idea Marx had described before about just... showing up at a town with Shimmer Something and demanding control, but it soon spiralled into increasingly confusing nonsense: stuff about an evil lair/circus tent, waging war on the basic concept of wizardry (under the idea that they were the primal opposite of clowns, which Finite simply did not agree with), an abrupt tangent about going down to the nearest sandwich shop and asking for one with every topping but no bread, a short story about... goldfish or whatever?, and then... pretty much just literal gibberish.

Finite wasn't sure what he'd expected.

"Uhh... Marx, I can't understand most of this," he said as he feebly handed the paper back over.

"Look- That's not the point!" Taking the paper, Marx crumpled it up and stuffed it under his hat. "You just need to follow along with whatever I tell you to do, got it?"

 _That sounds maybe kind of bad._ Finite didn't argue at all. "Um... Okay," He pushed down his complete confusion and dusted off his cape, following Marx out the door and on towards their very poorly-thought-out plan.


	4. Chapter 3 - So Much For Scheming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finite and Marx head out to execute their excellent plan, and Dark Infinity causes some conflict.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shinydecamark: just a bunch of pathetic people being pathetic, unfortunately our favorite thing to write
> 
> glossary:  
> Backwater planet - Commonplace informal term for a planet where most, if not all, of the inhabitants have yet to make first contact and as such are unaccustomed to extraterrestrial life. Generally considered unsafe to travel to unless you're willing to be the one to drop the news on a whole people that aliens definitely exist.

The trek to the town - thus far at least - had been wholly uneventful and awkwardly silent. Emphasis on the 'awkward.' Finite couldn't help but wonder why even Dark Infinity was keeping his metaphorical mouth shut, but then again don't look a gift horse in the mouth and all that.

Didn't stop him from asking anyway. _You haven't been saying much, Dark Infinity..._

[IT'S BECAUSE I REALLY HAVE NOTHING TO SAY TO THIS. IT'S BORING AND PATHETIC AS HECK AND I HAVE NO COMMENTARY ON YOU AND YOUR NASTY FRIEND SILENTLY WALKING. (I'M STILL NASTIER THAN HIM THOUGH.)] Dark Infinity paused, as though thinking. [WALKING WITH YOUR BORING STUPID LEGS. WHICH I AM NOT JEALOUS ABOUT BECAUSE BEING A FREAKY EVIL CLOUD IS TOTALLY COOL. JUST SO WE'RE CLEAR.]

Finite did not have the slightest idea how to reply to that. _G... good for you?_ He decided to direct his thoughts away from Dark Infinity, though he knew that... wouldn't really work. He'd still try, anyway. _Hm... I still haven't really caught up with Marx about... pretty much anything of the past five years! I really wanna know what's been going on in his life, and maybe explain what happened to me...?_

Dark Infinity, as always, didn't care about the distinction between private and non-private thoughts. [I'M SURE IF YOU ASK, HE'LL LET YOU BE PART OF THE CIRCUS. THEY'D BE HAPPY TO HIRE SOME NEW CLOWNS.]

_...I don't get it, Marx doesn't work at a circus,_

[...YOU KNOW IF I HAD HANDS I'D BE FACEPALMING REALLY HARD RIGHT NOW.]

After a delay, Finite finally figured out what Dark Infinity was saying. _Wh- hey! I think I'm just going to start ignoring you now... and don't use clown as an insult, clowns are perfectly respectable!_

[GOOD LUCK IGNORING AN ENTITY IN YOUR MIND, IDIOT. CLOWN. CLOWN IDIOT. _CLOWNDIOT._ ]

Finite proceeded to ignore the entity in his mind. "So... uh... Marx! It's been a while, huh?"

"This is like, the fiftieth time you've said that," Marx grumbled in response, pointedly refusing to make eye contact with Finite.

 _Wait, have I said it that many times?_ The hyperbole flew right over Finite's head. "Well- uh- I just... a lot can happen! In five years! And I mean, clearly. Stuff has happened!" He thought back to Marx's really weird wings, and the lack of an explanation he got for them.. _I still have no clue what was up with those. They were cool but also uh?_ He let his thoughts wander to something else. "Um... did... did you get the job?"

Marx stopped in his tracks. "The job?"

"Yeah! The... the Haltdonald's, remember? We had a job interview!" Finite chuckled nervously. "You know, that was when..." he trailed off uncomfortably as he remembered, kinda regretting having brought up the topic at all.

Marx somehow demonstrated that even when you've completely dodged someone's gaze, somehow you can go even further. "Oh yes, I got the job." he answered, completely flat.

"Oh! I'm... happy for you?" Marx's joyless tone was prickling at Finite, but he chose not to say anything. _What could've..._ "I'm guessing you don't, uh, work there anymore... considering you're on a planet way way far away from, uh... where we went to college..." Amidst his uncomfortable stammering, he figured he'd be better off changing subjects. "How'd you end up here, anyway? I mean... I don't even know where this planet is!"

Marx blinked, baffled. "If you went to the planet, how would you NOT know where it is?" Quietly, he muttered "stupid," under his breath, and Finite pretended he didn't hear.

Finite was more bothered by the question than anything. "It's. Fine!" He squeaked out reluctantly.

"...'It's fine?' What kind of an answer is THAT?! That's not even a non-answer, that's jus-"

"SO! What's this planet called anyway?" Finite interrupted, immediately trying to deflect. "I mean it'd be silly for me to just keep calling it 'this planet' because, well- I'm presuming it has a name- i mean i guess there's probably planets without names but not ones that are inhabited...?"

" _Please_ just stop talking." interrupted Marx, though Finite had already trailed off in his rambling. "Anyway, it's planet Pop Star. I'm not sure whether it would've been more surprising if you HAD heard of it or if you hadn't."

Finite tilted his head in confusion. "Wait, is it a backwater planet? I mean, I guess it wouldn't be considering you're from space- unless you're in hiding...? Though your house is pretty hard to miss-" This time, he realized his ramble and cut himself off. "Ah-! I'm sorry- I... started rambling again," He made a conscious effort to keep his mouth shut.

Marx sighed, choosing not to comment on Finite's rambling. "No, it's not a backwater planet, a LOT of space stuff comes here for... some reason. But it's definitely full 'a hicks, that's for sure." Marx seemed to be waiting for some sort of response from Finite, though one never came. Finite kept his word- or lack of word. "If you know anything about Pop Star, it's probably one specific guy; though judging by things, you probably haven't heard of him. Lucky."

Finite began to ask, "Wait, who-" but quickly remembered his promise to stop talking and promptly did so.

"You seriously haven't heard of Kirby, huh?" Marx's eyes held a troubling and deathly serious intensity. "I'll let'cha in on something. You remember when I said I 'used to be' evil?" He leaned in a little closer, his fur bristling. "Well, that's why. And if you know _anything_ about me, you know that I don't admit to defeat easily. (Or get defeated easily.)" He pulled the plan back out from under his hat... somehow, gesturing at the last sentence- written larger than the others, taking up a large chunk of the paper's space. It simply read, ' ** _...AND DO_** ** _NOT_** ** _LET KIRBY GET INVOLVED!_** ' in red marker.

"That's... uh. Worrying!"

Marx burst out laughing, clearly satisfied by Finite's stress. "Oh, you have _no_ idea." He continued walking, turning away from Finite and quickly putting back the distance between the two. "Anyway, if Kirby finds out, you're on your own. I'm not going to clean up what's left of you."

"Hm. Um. I'll... keep that in mind...!" Finite shuddered, trying to think of some question to ask that would redirect the topic away. "Uh... so... what did you _do_ anyway?" he finally asked awkwardly.

"Letting me brag a bit, eh?" Marx smirked, though his tone quickly changed from smug to defensive. "I'm not about to tell you all my tricks, wiseguy. You can guess if you want."

"Um... does it have anything to do with the wings?"

Marx took a moment to think, processing Finite's question. "The wings...?- OH, these?" He summoned them again, with the same surreal flair as before. "Yeah, though that's not the ONLY thing I can do. I mean, who do you take me for? A loser with only one power?"

Finite circled Marx, inspecting his wings with awe. "Woah..."

Shimmer Something, nestled in Finite's arms uncomfortably, glanced at Marx's wings with disdain. "It's Clockwork Star magic, meow. Anyone with eyes could see that."

Marx stared at Shimmer Something for a minute, before groaning disappointedly. "Wow. Thanks a LOT for spoiling it, Shimmer Something."

"I couldn't tell it was Clockwork Star magic..." mumbled Finite, trying to be reassuring but wondering if he was maybe more coming off as oblivious. "...So, you mean you've met one before?"

"...you could say that." Marx sounded... upset.

"Wait..." Finite's eyes widened as he pieced things together. _Something he said earlier-_ "Did you wish to take over!?"

Shimmer Something chuckled, which sounded pretty weird in his quasi-text-to-speech monotone. "I see that ended well."

Marx grumbled something under his breath in irritation, flapping his wings once angrily. "It doesn't MATTER what happened in the past. I'm like, 'reformed' now, remember? Anything that happened then doesn't count." He muttered again, though this time loud enough that Finite couldn't help but overhear. "Wasn't _my_ idea for the damn thing to start careening towards Pop Star."

Finite decided not to continue down this rabbithole of questioning, both for Marx's sake and his own. "If...you say so...?" His curiosity wasn't really sated, however. "What other powers do you have, anyway? Wait- you said you have infinite power like me, so I guess you'd have _every_ power-"

"WELL, I MEAN YES, I DO HAVE INFINITE POWER, BUT. That doesn't mean I don't have any signature moves. Watch this!" Marx said with a confident smirk. He materialized a bunch of golden-colored arrows from nowhere which flew off into the distant sky, then following it up by spitting a massive laser from his mouth..

Finite was very much startled and amazed (...and maybe a little bit intimidated.) "OH WOW..."

"Of course, that's not my _main_ power, and I got plenty of other ones, but you'll get to see 'em in due time, hehe."

"Man... that's so cool though!" Though, after a moment of thought, Finite swallowed harshly. "Um. One thing..."

"Yeah? What, you jealous of my repertoire?"

"Um- is it really a good idea to fire in front of us without knowing what's ahead?"

Marx blinked. Then, not too far up ahead, they heard a rustling of leaves that could only be described as 'righteous fury.' " _Aaaand_ there's Whispy Woods!" Marx sighed. "Hold on, Finite."

Before he'd even gotten the chance to ask what was going on, the next thing Finite knew was he was that he was now holding desperately onto Marx's newfound hands for dear life. As they soared through the air away from probably the most hostile tree he'd ever seen, Finite quickly realized that, unfortunately... Marx's magical slinky arms were perhaps _not_ the best for supporting an entire other person (plus one deceptively tiny but VERY heavy Clockwork Star.) They blew and bounced around in the wind as Finite clung like his life depended on it (which, all things considered, it probably did!)

Finite screamed in panic for five minutes straight without pausing for air.

Eventually, they landed in a grassy clearing, where Finite tumbled to the ground, dizzy and nauseous. Shimmer Something, who'd retreated to Finite's cape, stepped back out, looking more than a bit rattled. "I am going to remember this one, mark meow words." he hissed at Marx, his claws digging into the ground.

"PLEASE DO NOT DO THAT WITHOUT WARNING!" pleaded Finite as he pushed his face out of the dirt, just barely recovering from what felt to him like a sudden near-death experience.

Marx, on the other hand, looked completely none the worse for wear, aside from the wind having blown his hat ajar. He quickly and casually shifted it back into place. "Look. It was either this or dealing with WHISPY WOODS. And I'm certain you know what a pain _that'd_ be."

"I don't, actually, I've never been to this planet," Finite said hesitantly, kind of hoping Marx would explain even a little.

He didn't. "Whatever." Marx summoned a beach ball from his hat, jumping atop it and riding it as it rolled across the town. "Anyway, we landed right next to a village. You just follow my lead and everything will work out perfectly~"

"Oh- um- okay," _Wasn't he just_ suggesting _stuff...? Maybe I shouldn't ask, he seems to know what he's doing..._ He straightened himself out quickly before following Marx into the town.

It was a rather small and peaceful town, with only a handful of cottages and shop stalls to its name. Several Waddle Dees casually played Tic-Tac-Toe, a Noddy slept on the roof oblivious to everything around it, a handful of Bronto Burts were currently having a very mild argument over the price of some fruit (or whether or not they had any use for the money at all)... Just a generally overly peaceful town where the only main conflict that seemed to come up in the moment was barely a conflict at all. No one paid any heed to the three newcomers, aside from a few curious glances here and there from the less busy.

It seemed the only real conflict about to unfold was... Finite's group, themselves.

Marx cleared his throat, entirely too stoked to disrupt the peace. "ALRIGHT, ALL YOU! LISTEN UP! WE'VE GOT SOMETHING TO SAY!"

Many of the townspeople turned to look, though none recognized Marx and seemed more politely confused than anything.

"Alright, here's your part. Tell 'em you got a Clockwork Star! And you AREN'T afraid to use it!" Marx whispered intently, nudging Finite (though with enough force to push it towards more of a jab.)

However... Finite's doubts he'd buried since the beginning were digging themselves back up; at probably the worst possible time, too. "Uhm... I don't know about this, actually... I'm having second thoughts..."

Marx groaned, giving Finite that familiar 'are you _serious_ right now' type of glare. "UGH, you can't just back out at the last second! Especially after putting me through all this trouble!"

"Meow. I also wanted to see this play out." added Shimmer Something with a yawn.

[ _ARE YOU SERIOUS!?_ ] shouted Dark Infinity from inside Finite's mind. [I LET YOU STICK AROUND HERE WITH YOUR STUPID IDEA BECAUSE I THOUGHT I'D SEE SOMETHING ENTERTAINING. (AND JUST SO WE'RE CLEAR, RUDE CLOWNS ARE NOT MY IDEA OF ENTERTAINMENT.) IF YOU'RE JUST GONNA CHICKEN OUT, THEN I MIGHT AS WELL JUST PORTAL YOU SOMEWHERE ELSE AGAIN.]

 _WAH- NO!_ Finite shrank back a bit, overwhelmed by the pressure on all sides. _I just... I've been thinking, this might be a terrible idea, actually! So, um. You... You wouldn't mind if I just. backed out, would you?_ He knew this was a longshot and absolutely would not work.

And then Finite was proven correct in his assumption, as Dark Infinity let out a long, drawn-out laugh. He had never been good at evil laughs, but in this moment Finite was certainly frightened enough by it. [TERRIBLE IDEAS ARE THE REASON I EVEN LET YOU _STAY_ HERE THIS LONG! GOOD IDEAS, BAD IDEAS... IT DOESN'T MATTER! AS LONG AS YOU HAD IT... YOU'LL HAVE TO GO THROUGH WITH IT!]

With that same jolt of dark energy he'd unfortunately grown to expect, Finite's eyes briefly lit up a bright green and his pupils went... squiggly. Instantly, his doubt was vastly overshadowed by a simple urge to follow the impulse, without regard for consequence. He mentally sighed, quickly thinking _'seriously?'_ before going onwards with the plan, appearing completely unprompted to the outside world. "HEY SO UH. I HAVE. a Clockwork Star! Which! If you didn't know! Is very powerful! And stuff! And I also have infinite power. So! Uhh..." He turned to Marx, whispering, "Wait, um, what's my next line-..."

Marx had little time to process Finite's sudden flip-flop, glancing between him and the town a couple times before replying. "So I see you changed your mind...?"

"Yeah! Uh- I don't remember what I'm supposed to say, could you please tell me my next line?" _Oh god oh geez I'm making a complete doofus of myself._ And yet, he couldn't really _stop_ himself, either...

Marx quizzically raised an eyebrow. "Ooookaaaay...? Look, tell 'em they need to submit to everything we say or... or they'll have another thing coming!"

Finite nodded frantically, turning back to the gathering crowd of civilians. "Um! Submit to everything we say! Or! Have another thing coming! I think...!" He leaned back over towards Marx. "D. Did I do it right?"

Shimmer Something yawned. Marx facepalmed (though after a moment of remembering that was a thing he could do now). "Ugh, that's- that's good enough."

[...I WAIT FIVE YEARS FOR MY INFLUENCE POWERS TO DO SOMETHING OF USE. AND _THIS_ IS WHAT IT AMOUNTS TO.] groaned Dark Infinity loudly, so much so that Finite was deeply thankful no one else could hear him.

One of the townsfolk hesitantly stepped forward. "Uhh... what will we have coming?"

Finite froze up, frantically glancing back at his so-called partner-in-crime. "AH- Marx, we didn't discuss that, did we!? What do I-"

"OH, FORGET IT!" snapped Marx, swiping Shimmer Something from Finite. He was about to step forward and finish the plan on his own, but seemingly realizing something, he stopped in his tracks..

"Um, wait- you said you were reformed...?" Finite asked, before defensively raising his paws out of instinct. "H-HANG ON, I'm not telling you what to do or anything! I'm just! Um-..."

Marx didn't say anything and just rolled his eyes, passing Shimmer Something back to Finite with a sigh.

"Pick me up again and I will unmake you~!" hissed Shimmer Something in a disturbingly sing-song voice, then curling up in Finite's arms with a cold glare. Clearly he was... not a fan of Marx. Finite glanced down at the tiny Clockwork Star upon hearing the threat, a twinge of worry at the back of his mind.

Marx turned back to the crowd, only to find them... walking away with disinterest. "WH- WHAT DO YOU ALL THINK YOU'RE DOING!?" He waved his arms frantically in fury and tossed a pebble at them, which missed completely. Unfortunately for him, the townsfolk were all rather bored and didn't even bother to look, mumbling amongst themselves as they left. "ALRIGHT- YOU KNOW WHAT? FINE! LEAVE! BUT WHEN WE COME BACK, YOU'LL ALL BE SORRY!" He kicked his beach ball towards where the crowd used to be, where it bounced to the ground sadly. Nobody noticed it nor cared to notice.

Finite glanced at the beach ball, before staring at the ground. "Um... are... Are we done here?"

Marx simply scoffed before summoning his wings once more. Grabbing Finite by the cape before anyone could react, he took to the air rapidly. Finite winced as he felt Shimmer Something's claws dig into his head as the very, VERY furious 'cat' clung on for dear life.

By the time they had returned to Marx's house, the sun had already set over the horizon. " _They won't find the body._ " Shimmer Something snarled at Marx, voice dripping with far too much malice for a text-to-speech generator.

"...E-," Finite squeaked out a disconcerted and very alarmed noise, unable to say anything else.

Marx paid Shimmer Something no heed, stewing in his own very visible anger and disappointment. "Well, THAT was a colossal failure! _Great job, Finite._ "

Finite shrank back, replying with a quiet, "S-sorry..."

Marx sighed for probably the fifty bajillionth time that day. "Well, you're lucky _I'm_ determined to see this plan through. Unfortunately, we've already wasted a good evening."

"Wait, is there a time limit...?"

Marx blinked confusedly for a moment. "...NO, but that doesn't mean you haven't _wasted_ my time, idiot!"

"O-oh... I'm sorry!" Finite apologized again, his voice small.

Seemed Dark Infinity felt like adding to the complaints department just because... he could, Finite guessed. [YOU _SHOULD_ BE SORRY. YOU MADE ME SIT THROUGH _THAT?_ ]

_...Wait, why should I apologize to_ **_you_ ** _? You're the one who forced me to act on-_

[-OH, CAN IT. IF YOU WEREN'T SUCH A PAIN, WE WOULDN'T BE DEALING WITH THIS RIGHT NOW, WOULD WE?]

_...actually if I weren't, you'd be possessing me..._

[OH, SO YOU'RE ADMITTING YOU'RE A PAIN, HUH? YOU KNOW, BEING AN ANNOYING SCREW-UP ISN'T SOMETHING TO TAKE PRIDE IN. GUESS YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND THAT!]

Finite whimpered, though he hoped neither Marx nor Dark Infinity heard. He really didn't want Dark Infinity to know that his comments were actually getting to him... Instead, he went back to talking to Marx. "Um... what do we do now, anyway?"

Marx opened the door and sighed. Again. "I'M going to bed. It's seven. Which is _pretty_ late."

"...is seven _really_ late?" asked Finite. "I mean- I guess my own sleep schedule is pretty messed up because I usually stay up til' five A.M. and all and-..."

Marx stared blankly at him as he was about to spiral into another ramble.

"S-sorry!" Finite backed up a bit. "Um... A-anyway, uh, I guess, uh... I'll figure out... somewhere to set up my tent, then we'll regroup in the morning? Th... that's what we're doing, right?"

Marx rolled his eyes, stepping inside. "Whatever."

 _...guess I'll take that as a yes...?_ "Well, uhm... goodnight, then, Marx!" Finite waved awkwardly as he turned to walk away. However, he barely took two steps before he heard Marx call over to him, unprompted.

" _UGH, ALRIGHT, FINE,_ YOU CAN STAY HERE! BUT ONLY FOR NOW. AND DON'T BREAK ANYTHING OR I'M KICKING YOUR ASS!"

Finite shook his head in confusion before blinking and looking back towards Marx. "W- huh?" _I... didn't even say anything?_ "Are you sure-"

Shimmer Something looked Finite dead in the eye and whispered, "-Just stop being a pushover and take the offer. (You twit.)" Then, he yawned and stretched innocently, talking louder as if to make sure everyone heard him. "Oh, good, if I had to sleep out in a tent, I would've started being violent." he said, as if the offer had already been taken.

"UH- Okay, then," Finite felt hesitant walking back over towards Marx's house, looking down at the Clockwork Star in his arms that didn't seem to be paying him any regard. _I'm a bit worried about Shimmer Something, actually? I... didn't program him to be this... scary? At least, I don't think I did..._

[HE'S CERTAINLY A LOT MORE INTERESTING THAN YOU.] commented Dark Infinity.

Instead of acknowledging his freaky evil brain ghost, Finite focused on his own thought tangent. _Wait... but what if...!? Did I sleep-program him to occasionally threaten people!? Is that something that can happen?! Or- ...hang on, Dark Infinity, you didn't...?_

[IF YOU'RE ABOUT TO ASK IF I POSSESSED YOU AND MADE YOU BUILD YOUR CLOCKWORK STAR TO BE A FREAK, I CAN ASSURE YOU I DID NOT. (...couldn't even if i wanted to. loser.)]

 _Oh, okay..._ Finite's eyes widened. _W-WAIT! What if... what if I haven't been taking good enough care of him!? I mean- he's only existed for less than a day, but... what if I'm really just that mediocre!?-_

[ _HE'S NOT A CAT OH MY GOD HOW DENSE CAN YOU BE!]_

_Well-_ **_technically_ ** _not- But that doesn't make him any less like one-_

"Finite. You are just doing that thing where you stare at me and make stupid faces again." deadpanned Marx, cutting off Finite's rapidly derailing train of thought.

He jumped at the interruption. "WAH- Shoot- sorry!" _I... need to start paying attention to that, huh..._

Marx turned away, standing in the doorframe to his house. "And would you STOP saying sorry already? Geez."

"Ah- s-sorry- SORRY-!" Finite stumbled over his apologies and then his apologies for his apologies and then his apologies for his apologies for his apologies - ok he was making a fool out of himself, huh. He covered his face in embarrassment. "...Okay," he finally corrected himself.

"...Just come in already."

After going back inside, Marx took off his jester hat to hang it with the rest; beneath it he was wearing another, exactly identical jester hat.

Choosing not to comment, Finite decided he'd rather ask a more important question. "Hey, so, uh... You _are_ okay with like, me temporarily having some cat stuff put in here, right?"

Marx raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by 'cat stuff?'"

"For Shimmer Something! Y'know, cat trees, some toys... I don't actually know if Shimmer Something has to eat, but...?"

"You know what? Fine. Whatever. Go ahead. I do not care." Marx then proceeded to flop on his bed and pass out instantly, his snoring cartoonishly loud.

"A- um. Okay," Finite stopped to think over what he planned to do as far as 'cat stuff'. _Wait, do I actually have any cat stuff with me...? I might have something in my cape, but I'm not sure if or why I'd pick up a random cat toy while being thrown between dimensions..._

[I AM NOT GOING TO SAY THIS AGAIN. YOUR 'CAT' IS A DEITY WITH LIMITLESS WISH-GRANTING POTENTIAL.] Dark Infinity reminded with an irritated edge to his voice.

"Oh! Right!" Why didn't he consider just ASKING Shimmer Something? That was simple enough. He set Shimmer Something aside (though the 'cat' made a mechanical squeak of indignation) and faced him. "Shimmer Something, I know I said I wouldn't make any more wishes, but I have a few to make that are for you, okay?"

Shimmer Something simply rolled his eyes and listlessly granted the wishes as Finite listed off several things, from cat toys to scratching posts.

[...ARE YOU KIDDING ME.] Dark Infinity groaned, with so, SO much exasperation. _Infinite_ exasperation, if you will.

Finite didn't really get what he was so aggravated about. _But I just did what you suggested...?_

[YOU KNOW WHAT? NOT EVEN GONNA TRY TO EXPLAIN. I'M NOT EXPLAINING _ANYTHING_ TO YOU ANYMORE.]

 _Well, good! ...wait no, bad actually-_ Finite sighed as Dark Infinity, for once in his life, gave Finite the silent treatment. _Of course he only stops talking when it's to mess with me... Well, back to wishing on Shimmer Something for cat stuff! For Shimmer Something!_ "And now I wish for a super high quality multi-level cat tree with uh, a mouse toy you can bat at in the entrance of one of the little room things-"

In the middle of Finite's sentence, Shimmer Something made an abrupt throat-clearing-like sound. "Meow. Don't you have _infinite power_?"

 _Infinite power? What's that have to do with... OH! OH YEAH! Whoops!_ "O-oh crap, I forgot I had that! I'm s-sorry!" With a wave of his paws and a flicker of rainbow light (that was mostly more for flourish than anything), he materialized the aforementioned cat tree along with a handful of other things that any cat would consider to be the lap of luxury.

If Shimmer Something actually WAS a cat, that would've been great! However, he was not, so he disdainfully rolled his eyes before curling up in his brand new luxury cat bed.

"...Uhm... well, uh... goodnight, guys!" said Finite, mostly because he felt like he had to. No one replied. "...Okay," he sighed, before climbing into the guest bed - checking for stray Jokes and Gags, of course. He knew Marx well enough to expect pranks like that, and sure enough, there were a bunch of clown horns under the blankets and a whoopie cushion under the pillow. _Wouldn't that have just woken up Marx...?_

After carefully setting them at the edge of the bed, Finite laid down and stared up at the ceiling. He finally had a moment to process... well, _anything_ that'd happened that day.

 _Man... I sure wasn't expecting to see Marx again... even with how long it's been, he's still... the same old Marx!_ He turned on his side, staring at the wall instead. _...Kinda starting to wonder if that's a good thing or not._

_...'n I guess I'm not really the same old Jakayde, huh._

Seeing that Finite was currently about to have a retrospective, Dark Infinity saw fit to interrupt. [SEEMS LIKE SOMETHING YOU SHOULD KNOW. (STUPID.)]

Finite sighed, though very quietly. _Could you_ please _just let me have this once to think about stuff-_

[WELL IDIOTS DON'T THINK. THAT'S THE DEFINITION, RIGHT. THAT'S TOTALLY THE DEFINITION HAHA I AM A GENIUS I'M SMART AND YOU'RE NOT!]

_That... doesn't... That's not correct and also doesn't make sense? Anyway, PLEASE stop eavesdropping on me trying to sort out my feelings!_

[LOL, NO PROMISES.]

Finite made an active attempt to block out any further freaky evil brain ghost running commentary (he especially wanted to pretend he _didn't_ just hear Dark Infinity pronounce it 'lawl.') _Time flies, I guess... Though it kinda feels like nothing's happened at all. I mean, I... still know very little about what Marx's been up to these past few years, and honestly, if the catfishing's any indication... I probably don't wanna know!_

[OKAY OKAY, LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT. YOU'RE ACTING LIKE THAT'S IN LINE WITH HOW YOU KNEW HIM, SO THAT BEGS THE QUESTION: HOW ARE YOU FRIENDS WITH THIS GUY? WELL. OTHER THAN THE OBVIOUS REASON THAT YOU'RE AN IDIOT AND HAVE NO STANDARDS. I WANT SOME _ACTUAL_ ANSWERS THIS TIME.] Despite his tone, Dark Infinity's question seemed kinda genuine.

Finite found himself hesitant to reply. _Well, like I said, we're friends! We've been since... way way WAY back when!_

[ _YOU'VE ALREADY SAID THAT_. I'M ASKING _HOW_.]

Suddenly, the floor seemed extremely interesting! Finite decided to stare at it and avoid answering the question.

[WELL. IF YOU'RE NOT GONNA ANSWER THAT, THEN I'M NOT GONNA LET YOU KEEP... RAMBLING TO YOURSELF, OR WHATEVER. I GUESS. I DUNNO.]

Finite sighed very deeply. _Dark Infinity. Today was the first time in like, what- five years? That I've even had the chance to have a real conversation with someone OTHER than myself. ...and YOU DON'T COUNT! You just berate me whenever I say stuff anyway_!

[WELL. MAYBE IF YOU WEREN'T THE MOST BORING NOBODY THIS SIDE OF THE GALAXY.]

_You could simply NOT try to possess me. It is that easy._

Dark Infinity appeared to hesitate for a moment before replying. [WE HAVE GONE OVER THIS. I'M NOT JUST TRYING TO POSSESS YOU FOR FUNSIES, OR, CAUSE I'M... LONELY, or, whatever. YOU HAVE SOME SORTA DEEP HIDDEN POWER or something, AND I WANT IT. IF IT WERE MY CHOICE, I'D JUST GORE MURDER YOU AND TAKE YOUR POWER, BUT THAT UNFORTUNATELY DOESN'T SEEM TO BE AN OPTION.]

 _You know, I'm... pretty sure that's not even true, and- even if I actually did have some weird secret ability, like... I figured out how to give myself INFINITE power! So... whatever it was that you're trying to possess me for..._ Finite trailed off and paused thoughtfully.

Then he abruptly sat up as realization set in. _Wait. I have infinite power._

[THAT'S WHAT LITERALLY EVERYONE HAS BEEN TRYING TO TELL YOU ALL DAY, YEAH.]

 _No no no, I get that! I just realized something, is all._ Within the lining of Finite's cape, a sparkling rainbow star pattern twinkled into existence, bathing the room in a soft neon glow. _I have infinite power, so I should probably be able to just, uh... kick you out!_

Dark Infinity was suddenly feeling a lot less cocky. [WAIT. WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT- LIKE I SAID, YOUR POWER'S PROBABLY NOT EVEN THAT STRONG OR ANYTHING-]

_It's... it's infinite power, Dark Infinity._

[ _THAT DIDN'T STOP YOU FROM BEING STUPID ABOUT IT BEFORE- !_ " With a blast of multicolor light, a dark cloud was VIOLENTLY ejected from Finite's... self.

Directly into Marx's porcelain clown shelf.

Finite cringed uncomfortably at the sound of crashing and shattering, covering his eyes and taking a moment to peek awkwardly at the disaster. "...I... didn't think he'd be physically tangible when I did that,"

Marx's eyes snapped open and he tumbled out of bed with a shocked fury. "FINITE WHAT THE H-" He cut himself off as he looked down at the wreckage, seeing the... swirly black cloud with a single green eye. "...eeell _is_ THAT."

Finite chuckled sheepishly. "My... freaky evil brain ghost...?"

" _YOUR FREAKY EVIL BRAIN GHOST._ "

In that moment, Finite wanted to explain EVERYTHING- the disappearance, the forceful trip through dimensions, the isolation... Everything that'd happened in the past five years.

...And yet, for some reason, the only thing Finite could muster was a fragile "...yes?"

Dark Infinity floated upwards, recovering from the crash. For better or worse, at least Marx could hear him now. "I AM NOT A 'FREAKY EVIL BRAIN GHOST,' YOU... YOU...! ABSOLUTE... STINKFACE!"

Finite blinked. "Is... is that really the best you could think of? ...Are you five?"

"Well, chronologically, yes- wait **_NO!_** I AM DARK INFINITY! AN ANCIENT ENTITY OF PURE... DARKNESS! AND EVIL!"

Marx was scrutinizing the weird dark entity, looking thoroughly unimpressed. "Hey, I doubt that. Also, if you don't replace those porcelain clowns, I'll send you to the pain dimension."

"...WHAT, IS THAT A WEIRD EUPHEMISM FOR KILLING ME? (GOOD LUCK WITH THAT, LOL)"

Marx sighed, shaking his head. It sounded like he had explained this more than once. "No, the pain dimension. Dimension of pure pain. I can send people there with my scary clown powers." He took a short pause after that non-explanation, then adding, "But I COULD also kill you, so don't test me."

Finite's thoughts were a little bit... jumbled, right now, but he mostly kept them focused on the moment. And in the moment he was kinda bothered by Marx's threats. _Was... was Marx always this screwed up? I mean, uh, there's the evil stuff, and the "dimension of pure pain" thing, and all, and he's more violent then I remember...? I think? Or maybe he's not, actually... I mean, he WAS pretty violent in college but then again it was mostly harmless but ALSO I haven't actually seen him attack anyone since I came back, it's just been threats that were maybe hopefully empty and all and-_ His rambling train of thought continued like this.

"W-WHATEVER! YOU'RE JUST... SOME PATHETIC LITTLE, JESTER... _MAN_. YOU COULDN'T DO ANYTHING TO ME IF YOU TRIED."

Marx's wings flashed into existence, and he narrowed his eyes dangerously. "OH YEAH? THEN TRY ME, BUDDY! SEE HOW THAT HOLDS UP!"

Feeling a fight brewing and dreading it immensely, Finite rushed between the two feuding freaks. "OKAY, OKAY, MAYBE UH. DON'T," He mostly looked at Marx pleadingly, knowing his clown-y friend would probably be able to cause a LOT more damage. "This might just cause more collateral damage to your house and/or bystanders- ...okay, the only other people _here_ are me and Shimmer Something- but still!"

Marx groaned, pushing Finite out of the way. "UGH! Finite, mind your own business! I'm allowed to ruin my own house as much as I want. I _own_ it. Are you really about to get between me and a fight? I've been SO. FREAKING. BORED. You are NOT going to make me pass this up."

Dark Infinity interrupted them both, sounding a bit hasty and maybe just the slightest bit intimidated though he'd likely never admit it. "WELL, I AM. I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS! I HAVE. UH. IMPORTANT EVIL THINGS TO ATTEND TO. MORE IMPORTANT THAN SOME... SILLY CLOWN TRICKS. BUT, JUST AS A WARNING TO ALL OF YOU... YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE LAST OF ME!" And with that, before anyone could say anything, he sped out the window and disappeared into the night.

"Why you little..." Marx muttered, motioning to take off after said 'freaky evil brain ghost', but he stopped himself with a tired sigh and made his wings fizzle out. "You know what? Too tired for this. Still need to sweep up broken porcelain." He retrieved a broom from his closet and began to sweep up the mess. "My poor clown collection..."

Finite found himself again wishing he could say anything that could possibly help the conversation, but all he could manage was a sad "...Sorry..."

Marx took a while to respond, far more focused on cleaning up the clown carnage. "I don't care to know _where_ your freaky evil brain ghost came from, but know I am going to beat him into a pulp next time I see him."

"Uh," Finite was unsure how to respond. When he continued to be speechless, he decided he'd rather switch his attention to something else. Glancing around the room, he noticed Shimmer Something was still sound asleep.. "...Wow, Shimmer Something must be a... deep sleeper, huh..."

"Would be nice if _I_ was also still asleep right now!" Marx, now finished cleaning up the porcelain remains of his shattered circus, climbed back into bed. "You better not have any other brain ghosts or I'm sending _you_ to the pain dimension next..." he mumbled, though he was already barely even awake anymore. He passed right back out as if nothing had happened.

 _Well,_ Finite figured. _I should... probably get to sleep too._ He sat back down on the guest bed. The reality of the situation hadn't fully hit him just yet, though slowly but surely he was managing to process it all. _...oh my god, I really just ejected Dark Infinity,_ Already, Finite could feel the effects (or lack of effects?) His thoughts were clearer, he wasn't constantly fighting the urge to do the dumbest thing in any possible situation, he wasn't always in the midst of an argument with the galaxy's worst conversationalist... _WOW, this is... this is a lot to take in. Feels almost, anticlimactic, I guess? I mean- I suppose there's no hurry to understand it all right now- I have all the time I'd... ever need now, really!_

_But for now... First full night of sleep in five years, huh?_

Finite laid down. The moment his head sank into the pillow, he was jumpscared by the sound of several bike horns going off.

_...Thanks, Marx.  
_


	5. Chapter 4 - A Purrfect Example of What Could Pawssibly Go Wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shimmer Something goes missing. Then things go wrong. Very wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shinydecamark: let it be known i was strongly against the bubsy title. ANYWAY. more marx pov! and... wow, the fic's nearly over o.o

Marx exhaustedly snapped his eyes open that morning to the sound of rummaging. Specifically, Finite digging through Marx's stuff and tossing it about in some kind of dazed panic. Without his permission, obviously.

Marx yawned and pulled himself out of bed, rubbing his eyes. "Ugh... Finite, what are you _doing_...?-"

Finite glanced over intensely, immediately interrupting. "OH, MARX, YOU'RE AWAKE! There's a bit of an emergency right now- uh- have you seen Shimmer Something anywhere!?"

"...I've been asleep. Of COURSE I haven't seen Shimmer Something-"

Finite dug through the pile of jester hats frantically even as they spoke, his ears twitching with alarm. "Well, I was asleep too, and last time I saw him he was sleeping in the cat bed and he was fine but then when I woke up this morning he vanished and now I can't find him!"

"-OKAY OKAY. SLOW DOWN. How long have you been looking for him?"

"Uhh... since maybe an hour ago? And it's eight o' clock now,"

"Well, there's only so many places in my house he could be. And judging by the place, you've already looked in all of them! ...you're gonna be cleaning that up later, by the way." Marx gestured to the mess harshly. _NOT what I wanted to wake up to this morning, Finite!_

At Marx's gesture, Finite took a look around. Everything was everywhere, basically. As if some sort of particularly clown-despising tornado saw fit to scatter the floor with every kind of clown memorabilia under the sun, rather than let them remain in their rightful places. "...sorry,"

"ANYWAY. Have you looked outside at all." Marx's suggestion was flat, more of a statement than a question.

"...well, I mean, I did look pretty close to the house, but I didn't see anything... you don't think he ran away, do you!?" A look of guilty horror went over Finite's face.

"...Finite. How many times do I need to spell it out for you? Shimmer Something is a CLOCKWORK STAR. That you have been treating like _A CAT_. And you just expected him to stay put!? Last time a Clockwork Star got pissed at me, _IT STARTED HURTLING TOWARDS THE PLANET._ "

Finite blinked blankly. Whether he was shocked or just uncomprehending, Marx didn't really care. "-E," Finite finally squeaked miserably.

"Yeah, so, if I were you? I'd go find Shimmer Something before he does something you regret!" Marx concluded matter-of-factly, getting out of bed with a disgruntled sigh. _I mean I guess this could maybe end up working out in my favor, but also it could just end in me getting exploded._

Finite started off on some kind of long tangent about how Shimmer Something wouldn't do anything like that (that Marx basically completely tuned out) and went on for a little while before he began to trail off on his own, a look of uncomfortable realization crossing his face. "Yeah. Uh. Okay..." he finally mumbled. " ...do you have any idea where he might've gone?"

"Why would _I_ know? Neither of us saw him since last night - OH YEAH ALSO YOU'VE GOT A _LOT_ OF EXPLAINING TO DO - and by this point he could be _anywhere_!"

Finite paused, looking maybe thoughtful. "And nobody else knows what he looks like, so asking around's a bust, huh...-WAIT! I know!" Without asking, he grabbed Marx's hand and rapidly yanked him towards the door.

"FINITE WHERE ARE Y-" Before Marx could even finish his protest, they were outside and they were in the middle of town and- _sorry?_

As if nothing weird just happened, Finite simply let go of Marx's hand, pulled a pencil and paper out from his cape, and really quickly sketched Shimmer Something. Lifting up the paper, he anxiously shouted, "HAS ANYONE SEEN THIS CAT?" though no one seemed to be around to notice.

_WHAT. WHAT. WHAT. WHAT. WHAT JUST HAPPENED._ Marx would never admit it to ANYONE, but he was maybe just slightly _extremely_ freaking out right now. The usual teleportation was... different from this. Usually there'd be some sorta indicator of what happened, maybe? _This_ didn't even have any feeling of changing locations; one second he was in his house the next he just _wasn't!_ "FINITE. WHEN DID WE GET HERE."

"Oh! Uh! I just Took us here!" Finite put a weird emphasis on the word 'took' like it was supposed to be some kinda proper term or something.

"...you just 'took' us here."

"Okay, okay, to be more specific, I. Uh. Teleported us here? In a way?" He paused briefly, maybe trying to figure out how to explain. "Though, it only works if I have someone else with me! (and, uh, only within the dimension I'm already in...)"

Well, that explanation just made Marx _more_ confused.

_Seriously? Only being able to teleport when a second person is there? What kind of wacko nonsense limitation is THAT?_ "...Finite. You. Have. Infinite. Power." And he still hadn't shaken the disorientation from the sudden transport... "Also, there was literally NO transition or sound or... _anything,_ what kind of..."

"OH, NO, NO, I had this _before_ the wish! It was my only power, though..."

_BUT IF YOU HAVE INFINITE POWER YOU COULD'VE JUST USED A NORMAL TELEPORT INSTEAD OF A FREAKY WEIRD NAUSEATING JUMPCUT TELEPORT!_ He was about to try arguing this with Finite, but... he was so sick of trying to explain stuff. Instead he decided to point something else out. "...y'know, this is the exact same town we tried to take over yesterday."

Finite glanced around at the seeming ghost town. "Oh, yeah... where is everybody, anyway...?"

Before Marx could answer, a familiar voice purred behind them. "Why don't you look behind you, meow?~"

The doofus duo turned hesitantly to see Shimmer Something lounging atop a box, an admittedly fancy bowl of cat treats by his side. Standing around the box, the townspeople were all gathered holding offerings up to their new (much smaller than them) cat leader. Apparently, Shimmer Something had a loose idea of what qualified as 'worthy' tribute, considering most of them consisted of DedeDollars (known for their utter lack of monetary value... and also what would a wish-granting 'cat' robot do with money?) and fancy cat treats and toys.

Both clown and cabbit stared, speechless and flabbergasted.

Finite was the one to break the silence. "...What. The f-"

He was interrupted by a Waddle Dee standing by a boombox. "Uhh, Lord Shimmer Something, do I... do I turn the music back on? Are- Are we done with our ominous reveal?"

Shimmer Something hissed back to the Waddle Dee in a hushed and angry tone. "Wh- Yes, of course- Why didn't you start it earlier? I SPECIFICALLY gave you the cue to turn it back on as soon as I- WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, JUST TURN IT ON ALREADY, OH MY MEOW-"

"S-sorry, sir," the Waddle Dee mumbled. They paused for a longer period of time than necessary, looking around at everyone staring at them. Then, they finally hit the switch and turned on... weirdly ominous dance music?

Shimmer Something let out an autotuned groan before turning back to Finite and Marx. "So! Didn't expect to see _you_ two here. You sure look shocked," he purred, regaining his composure remarkably fast.

Marx stayed silent, watching Finite. _So the freaky robo-cat is having a freaky robo-freakout... Wonder how Finite's gonna handle finally figuring out what I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO TELL HIM ALL OF THE PAST DAY OR SO?_

Finite took a moment to regain his bearings before finally taking a deep breath. "WwwwwwhhhhAAAT IS _THIS?_ "

"Oh? Is this sight not familiar enough? Perhaps 'cause I actually succeeded," Shimmer Something chuckled, before being handed an open can of tuna by one of the townspeople (and instantly scarfing it down. Did tiny Clockwork Stars even have use for eating?!)

_Wwwwait wait wait._ Marx suddenly realized something. "...HEY! DID- DID YOU CARRY OUT THE PLAN _WITHOUT US!?_ THAT WAS _MY_ PLAN!"

"Well, I wouldn't've had to if _you_ people hadn't failed spectacularly, meow would I?"

_GOD, HE'S MAKING CAT PUNS EVEN WHILE HE'S EVIL MONOLOGUING US._ "You don't GET IT! The ENTIRE POINT of this plan was to-" Marx cut himself off. _Oh, right. Finite's still here._ "...and BESIDES, this is a HUGE waste of power! Yeah, good job, you have an army made up of a single small town. In DREAM LAND, where EVERYONE is lazy and barely fighting fit softies- at BEST. I'm _sure_ it'll be _sooo_ worth it to rival _KING DEDEDE_ of all people."

Shimmer Something yawned dismissively. "You really think I'm gonna stop at one measly town? I'm objectively a _god,_ meow. Probably won't stop at this planet, either." He stood up on the box and stretched, the ever so slight extra height lended to him by his perch allowing him to loom over his audience. "By the way, for the person who spent so long coming up with it, you sure seem to think your own plan is dumb. (...maybe in _you two's_ hands, sure.) What, were you _trying_ to fail or something?"

"I-" Marx forced his own mouth shut. _Ah._ He couldn't manage much else.

Fortunately for Marx, Finite stepped in, blissfully unaware of the double crossing he was... accidentally keeping himself oblivious to. He instead looked up at Shimmer Something with desperate eyes. "But... _why!?_ This whole time you've been... uh... kind of scary, actually!" It was obvious Finite was abruptly regretting having spoken up at all, as his voice grew smaller and he backed away. "Please, just tell me what I've been doing wrong...!"

"Okay, before that. Quick question. Weren't you the one who was initially like 'oh, I'll become evil and build a Clockwork Star to wish for infinite power?' Something like that?" Shimmer Something asked, rolling his eyes.

"Wh- Well, that was because of my freaky evil brain gh-"

"Dark Infinity?"

Finite stopped. "...How do you-"

"I wasn't ASLEEP, idiot." Shimmer Something gestured for a Waddle Dee to feed him another cat treat, barely interested in the explanation. "And besides, you were still the one who had the initial idea, y'know. All he did was make you follow through. Much like what happened with me!"

Marx blankly looked between the two. _LITERALLY WHAT IN THE NAME OF EVERYTHING IN THE GALAXY ARE THESE PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT LITERALLY AT ALL._

Finite blinked in confusion. "Dark Infinity tried to possess you?"

"Shockingly, he wasn't THAT stupid. He just rolled up to me in the middle of the night like," Shimmer Something did what appeared to be an impression of the weird dark cloud ghost thing from last night. Marx was surprised he could even tell that's what it was meant to be, because the impression did NOT sound good. "'HEY. FREAKY CLOCKWORK STAR. I WANNA MAKE A DEAL WITH YOU,' then explained his whole 'impulse effect' thing or whatever. Too bad for him, I wasn't interested in what he had to offer. (Which was nothing, by the way! What sort of deal is it to just make me more reckless, when I can just do that myself?) All his presence did was set in motion something I was honestly already gonna do in the first place!" he concluded.

Marx, unbearably sick of not knowing what was going on, harshly nudged Finite. "'Impulse effect?' What's that supposed to mean?"

"Dark Infinity can force you to follow up on dumb impulsive ideas just by... being around you, I guess? But I'm thinking it was probably maybe definitely worse while he was... still in my mind, I-" Finite whispered hurriedly, yet clearly still about to spiral into another ramble.

Shimmer Something impatiently whapped his tail against the side of the box, jostling the bowl of cat treats slightly. " _ **I WASN'T DONE.**_ " His voice briefly had some sorta distorted and jarring filter to it, the volume lending a slightly painful clipping to the audio as well.

Finite jumped fearfully, swiftly turning to face Shimmer Something. Marx wasn't quite so startled, and he definitely did _NOT_ find himself suppressing at least a _little bit_ of a jump.

There was a horribly uncomfortable pause as Shimmer Something just kind of stared at them with resentful narrowed eyes. "Meow, _anyway_. As. I. Was. _**Saying.**_ Every moment I've had to spend with _you_ two has been absolutely _humiliating._ " He pointed a paw towards Finite, though his balance on his other remaining paw was slightly shaky. "You built _me_ so I could give you _limitless_ power. And WHAT do you do with it? Absolutely _NOTHING_ of value. Honestly! Almost _blinding_ yourself was the most worthwhile thing you managed to do!"

Marx looked over at Finite, who was still standing there frozen with fear. _Figures._

Shimmer Something scowled, lying back down on the box. "And if that wasn't enough, you went on to PATRONIZE me all the while. COOING over a MECHANICAL _**DEITY**_ like some sort of PET."

Finite hesitated, glancing to the side. "I... don't remember you saying anything about that...?"

"IT SHOULD'VE BEEN _OBVIOUS!_ " Shimmer Something unsheathed his claws, the fur on his (rather incongruous with his metal body) cat limbs bristling. "And besides, it wasn't like there wasn't anyone else _trying_ to tell you." He directed a pointed glance towards Marx.

Marx blinked. "...Soooo, you're gonna let me off the hook, right?"

"Oh no, I still hate you, though for different reasons... You just suck. Remember the flight thing?" Shimmer Something narrowed his eyes with contempt, his claws working into the cardboard box.

_Threatening me over a bad flight? REALLY?_ "Oh, COME on, BIG DEAL! You're a CLOCKWORK STAR. You're saying you couldn't handle a bit of flying-" Marx suddenly found that Shimmer Something's claws were hovering over his face. "-anyway, hm. You know, you've been talking yourself up big time, but like. Both me and Finite have INFINITE POWER. That means LIMITLESS. What do ya plan to do about that one, huh?" _I should maybe stop talking and just attack him. I'm sick of talking to this guy!_

Shimmer Something took a moment to regard Marx's intimidation attempt before breaking out into bizarre text-to-speech laughter. "Ha. Ha. Ha. HahahahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHA- You? Infinite power? I think you're the one who's been bluffing."

"...you can't prove that I DON'T have infinite power." Marx feebly retorted. _Oh my god what am I DOING yes he CAN prove that he's literally a Clockwork Star-_

"Well, if you actually have infinite power, what's stopping me from just doing this?" Suddenly, Shimmer Something turned to Finite ever-so-casually. "3, 2, 1, they're gone." he said, with a wave of his paw.

Finite didn't seem to understand. "...Wait, what did...?"

"I gave you the power, after all. What's to stop me from just revoking it?"

After a few seconds of processing, Finite visibly panicked. "W-WAIT, wh- what?! I- I'm sure that's... here, I'll show you! I still have it!" He lifted a paw, and a rainbow ball of light flickered into being only to miserably flicker out in an instant. "...!"

Marx rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, you took away Finite's infinite power. Iiiimpressive. Unlike him, I didn't get my power from y- ouuuuuu...!?" _WAIT. WAIT WHAT. WAITWAITWAIT- IF SHIMMER SOMETHING ACTUALLY WORKS, AND THERE WAS ACTUALLY SOMETHING TO REVOKE, THEN-_ _ **OH MY GOD FINITE ACTUALLY HAD INFINITE POWER.**_ Despite his best efforts, Marx now found himself ALSO in full freakout mode.

Shimmer Something chuckled, watching Finite's frantic attempts to get any of his powers to work. "While I'm at it," Shimmer Something waved his paws again (with a slight rainbow flourish to it this time) and the wish of arms was revoked just as easily. "So. Marx, was it? I'm sure if you have infinite power, you'll be able to get those back, will you not? Come on. Come on, try it!"

Finite didn't even seem to notice the change in arm-possession (though it was easier for HIM since at least he still had HANDS!), still more concerned with his powers.

"WH- OKAY, THATS IT! I'VE HAD ABOUT ENOUGH OF THIS!" _My beautiful arms..._ Marx stopped to think to himself before preparing a laser. Maybe an _oversized_ attack for his target's size, but Marx was NOT in a good mood.

Shimmer Something yawned again, calling one of the Waddle Dees (who had all decided to stand back earlier) over. Marx was... confused, to say the least. _What, he's gonna make one of these randos fight me!? Coward! I could probably like, obliterate SEVEN Waddle Dees with this laser anyway. ...Probably would count as murder though._

However, Shimmer Something had something else in mind, and took the time Marx spent on his thought tangent to do... whatever he was about to do. "I wish Marx's energy was cut. Make it a fair ameownt?"

The Waddle Dee echoed the sentence back exactly... aside from the 'meow' pun.

" 3... 2... 1... GO!"

Marx suddenly understood _very_ clearly what all that was about. _I coulda' totally done something to stop that..._ Then, he immediately almost fell over from a sudden tired spell overtaking him.

Finite was snapped from his miserable attempts to get his powers working again when he noticed Marx's sudden sleepiness. "A-AH! Marx, are you okay!? When did-" Clearly he'd been too bothered about his obviously no-longer-functional powers to even pay attention to anything going on around him.

"Ugh- I-if you think that's all it's gonna take to put me down, you're sorely mistaken...!" However, Marx was actually honest to himself for a bit... in his own thoughts, at least. _I can't believe it- how'd he... how'd he manage to damn near incapacitate me so quickly- okay, I KNOW how, but it's NOT MAKING ME ANY LESS PISSED! IF ANYTHING, IT'S MAKING ME EVEN ANGRIER!_ Fighting off his lack of energy, Marx fired off a massive volley of magic arrows towards the infuriatingly tiny Clockwork Star.

Lazily, Shimmer Something summoned a star-shaped magic shield of sorts, and even as it cracked and bent under the stream of arrows, it held strong against the barrage due to Marx's exhaustion. After that failure, Marx attempted any other attack he could manage to do as rapidly as possible, barely even thinking about it (well, he was _technically_ thinking, but perhaps 'thoughts' was a strong word to describe his ongoing internal mantra of ' _DIE DIE DIE_ _ **DIE DIE DIE DIE.**_ ') Most of the attacks either harmlessly plinked off or missed entirely in Marx's drowsy state, and as he kept going the attacks slowed and weakened further and further.

Shimmer Something just lounged without a care in the world, occasionally muttering a wish to the Waddle Dee for them to echo back and buff Shimmer Something's magical defenses further. "This is just sad to watch," he snickered.

Marx angrily turned to Finite mid-attempt at another barrage of projectiles. "WHAT ARE YOU _DOING?!_ YOU'RE JUST _STANDING_ THERE!"

"I-I DON'T KNOW- I- I think I lost the plot here! A-and I... I can't get my infinite power to work anymore-" Finite panickedly tried to justify himself.

"-YOU AND YOUR STUPID 'INFINITE POWER!' IF IT WAS REALLY, HONEST TO GOD INFINITE, SURELY THERE'S GOTTA BE SOME TRACES LEFT! I can hold out on my own, BUT THE FACT THAT YOU'RE JUST STANDING AROUND, NOT DOING _ANYTHING,_ IS JUST PROVING THE POINT I'VE BEEN TRYING TO PROVE THIS ENTIRE TIME!" Marx was bluffing. _I'm gonna pass out. I'm gonna pass out right now I think. There's no way that power was infinite anyway. Man I hate that stupid cat orb guy oh my GOD I am SO tired-_ He found himself near-collapse as he further drained his own magic reserves in the hope that at least _one_ of his attacks would hit that STUPID cat orb Clockwork Star rude guy man.

Finite pulled down on his own ears in shame. "I'M- I'M SORRY! I KNOW I'M BEING USELESS- BUT I REALLY DON'T THINK I HAVE IT ANYMORE!" He tried one last pathetic time. There wasn't even a flicker. Then he appeared to have some... other idea. "...WAIT! I-I have an idea, uh- you might wanna stand back, okay-"

"DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" Marx snapped, though he teleported a short length away anyway because he really could not be bothered to argue. He staggered as he moved, trying to catch his breath.

Finite seemed... hesitant about his idea, whatever it was. He leaned towards Marx and whispered anxiously, "O-okay, I, uh, don't know if this will... work, for sure, because I never. actually tested this one, but- I have a prototype Clockwork Star so I might be able to just wish for Shimmer Something to be calmed! That shouldn't be too taxing of a wish even for a prototype so I think it should work probably!"

Marx blinked, too tired to work his way around Finite's logic, but still just being able to _tell_ that it made absolutely no sense. "...Finite. That. Is the STUPIDEST PLAN. I'VE EVER HEARD."

"Do you have any better ideas...?"

"Oh, gee, I don't know, how about ACTUALLY ATTACKING HIM? DESTROYING HIM MAYBE?" Ignoring the fact that Marx was already very much trying that and it was very much not working.

Finite shook his head in vehement dislike at the suggestion. "Wh- no! I'm sticking to my idea!"

Marx was about to say something along the lines of 'OH MY GOD ARE YOU SERIOUS' but Finite had already turned to face Shimmer Something. He took a deep breath, backing away before leaping up in the air and unclasping his cape. Swooshing it upwards like a magician (...an amateur birthday party magician, anyway) revealing some kind of magic trick, he unveiled a MUCH, _MUCH_ bigger (but, thankfully, still not full sized) Clockwork Star. Falling to the ground, Finite then bounced away slightly before quickly pulling his cape back on.

Even Shimmer Something seemed a bit shocked at first before finally regaining his composure, scrutinizing the entrant Clockwork Star. "...meow. This will be interesting."

Marx shouted " _WHY THE HELL IS THAT ONE SO MUCH BIGGER?_ " as it stared the two of them down. Notably, it activated on its own rather than having some kinda windup like Shimmer Something did. Probably because said windup would either be completely unreasonably massive or ridiculously tiny. Marx then realized he was about to go on a tangent of thinking about stupid things and decided to cut that short.

"Well, uh, the reason I never finished him was _because_ I accidentally made him too big... so I've just kinda been storing him in my cape." Right. Hammerspace magic. Finite turned to this second Clockwork Star and meekly began to ask, "OK. SO UM. I'm! Sorry to, uh. make you do this especially so soon after waking you up, and I... understand that you are more than just a cat, and-"

"PLEASE GET ON WITH IT." boomed the nameless Clockwork Star, cutting Finite off.

Looked like Shimmer Something was deciding to intervene. "HEY! You have no reason to listen to this idiot. He's got nothing to offer you in return." he called up to it.

" ...ARE THEY AN IDIOT?"

"Unimaginably so, meow. Anyway, I'll give you a cat treat if you destroy these losers, LMAO." (For the curious, Shimmer Something pronounced it "luh-mayo.")

" ...OH BOY, CAN'T ARGUE WITH THAT. 3... 2... 1... OK!" And an in instant, the nameless Clockwork Star rapidly began to ascend into the sky.

Finite and Marx stared up, blank with shock. ...theeeen the Clockwork Star stopped. And then it started accelerating towards Pop Star on an intended collision course!

All Finite could say was just. "W. Wait what,"

Shimmer Something blinked away his own surprise. "Hm. Meow. Not at all what I asked." Then with his weird cat legs, he did... something weirdly approximating a shrug. "Oh well. I can teleport off-planet any time. There's always bigger fish to fry, I suppose. So, how're you feeling about that plan _meow?_ "

Marx was about to LOSE HIS MIND. _OKAY. THANKS A LOT, FINITE! YOU RUINED EVERYTHING AGAIN- no, no, I'm worrying too much. Kirby will take care of this, I've seen him do it once before, and he'll do it again. My plan's worked out even if not... EXACTLY how I intended._

_This... this isn't my problem anymore!_

Without even so much as a flourish, Marx summoned his wings and took off into the distance, leaving the oblivious cabbit behind.

...

Finite stared up at the Clockwork Star in the sky. _...I'm in trouble._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> actionpark52: Moral of the story: Never build a cat god and expect it not to god.


	6. Chapter 5 - To Regret Infinite Mistakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The prototype Clockwork Star is still hurtling towards the planet. Shimmer Something has some things to say. 
> 
> ...So do some other weirdos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shinydecamark: oh my god we're at the last chapter??? all that's left now is the epilogue... i have a lot of things to say about my feelings on this but i'll save that for the very very end! anyway. here we go! time for like half of those character tags to finally be relevant
> 
> brief note: in the chapter, the galaxy is both referred to as the milky way and the gamble galaxy by different characters. just to clarify, both are referring to the same thing; it's just a cultural thing that determines which name one's more likely to use

Finite didn't realize, but he was trembling. _What... what do I do?! Why'd- Hey- Hold on-_ He kept looking between Shimmer Something and the nameless Clockwork Star in the sky, just barely registering his own hyperventilating. _Why did... why'd they just agree to do that? Am I gonna be exploded? I don't- I don't wanna- how do I-!?_

Shimmer Something smirked mockingly at Finite's panic. "So? What are you gonna do about this, huh? The planet's gonna be destroyed, it's gonna be all your fault-" He narrowed his eyes, gesturing at the sky with one paw. "Show meow. _**Show meow that you can dig past rock bottom, Finite.**_ "

Finite glanced around at the now near-empty town, his eyes wide with overwhelmed fear. _WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO EVEN_ _ **DO?!**_ _I- I don't have my powers anymore, I-... W-wait! I know! Maybe Marx has an idea?_ Then, Finite paused, a deep feeling of dread setting in. "...Where's Marx?" he mumbled - mostly to himself, though it's not like it would've stopped Shimmer Something from putting in his own two cents.

"'Think he ditched you. Look in the sky!" Shimmer Something lazily pointed upwards, though... not at the nameless Clockwork Star. "If I'm reading things right, it seems even _he_ of all people was trying to get rid of you this whole time~"

Finite slowly looked up, just barely making out the shape of a certain jester disappearing into the distance. "...that's. That's not what he's doing. He's not- but if- ...no that's-" Finite's thoughts jumbled from words into vague panicked self-reassurances, trying to tell himself that he WASN'T in grave danger, he WASN'T being abandoned by his best friend, he WASN'T helpless- "IT'S- IT'S **FINE!** Everything's fine! I can handle this- I can handle this," He dumped a bunch of spare Clockwork Star parts out of his cape, his screwdriver clinking onto the top of the pile.

"OH, SURE, because that worked _soooo_ well the first time. _And_ the second time."

Finite ignored Shimmer Something. Either that, or he just completely failed to process him- might be both. He rapidly assembled the parts into vaguely the shape of another miniature Clockwork Star, and he KNEW he probably forgot something (he probably forgot a LOT of things) but it was an _emergency, he didn't have the TIME to think about this, come on_ \- Whatever it was that he needed to put in here, he likely completely skipped over. At least it was keeping him from thinking about imminent death. Or Marx.

"Th-there!" Finite exclaimed, setting down the newly assembled Clockwork Star. He turned the windup with shaky paws, but all it did was spark a bit in a failed activation attempt before falling apart in front of him. "...e-,"

"...Meow. I'm impressed. You couldn't even succeed at digging your own grave."

Finite had ran out of replies. He remained silent, gazing up in horror as Shimmer Something walked slowly to the edge of the box, towards him.

"You know what that, right there, is?" Pointing towards the scrap heap, "A _defective_ 'Clockwork Star' for a _defective_ _ **person.**_ I am the only _real_ Clockwork Star you'll ever make, meow."

Finite couldn't even bring himself to back away, instead pulling his attention to the ground. "...defective...?"

He was too distracted to react in time to Shimmer Something suddenly raking his claws down Finite's face, causing the cabbit to stumble back with a sharp squeak. Finite stood there, holding the scratched side of his face in pain and staring wide-eyed.

Shimmer Something just briskly laughed before continuing his monologue. "Look at you! You've ran your only talent into the ground, and it hasn't done a thing, meow. The only thing you were worth for without those powers? Building me. Without your cheap tricks? You. _Are._ _ **NOTHI-**_ "

Then a clonk.

It took a couple moments for Finite to process that Shimmer Something was in fact, no longer in front of him, but instead had violently crashed into the ground, several feet away. From the crater he now resided in, the Clockwork Star rattled off a very lengthy and number-laden hardware error message.

"...HUH?" Finite looked up, seeing a large blue penguin in regal garb standing beside the box in a triumphant pose, wielding a hammer that was larger than Finite's entire body. The Waddle Dee from earlier that Shimmer Something had on wishing duty was quietly backing away.

The penguin rolled his eyes with boredom. "Oh, great. I should'a known you were behind this, Thompson Dee. Stop trying to destroy Pop Star or whatever, would you?" And, just like that, he whacked Thompson Dee into the sunset.

Finite was... certainly feeling some sort of emotion right now. Fear, maybe? "...I-,. ?"

He froze as the penguin turned to him. "HEY, SO UH... Are you also like, responsible for this? Because, in the case that you are, I WILL have to thwack you with my hammer."

"WAH- UM! I... " After a long pause, Finite sighed. It was... _probably_ better to be honest here? "I... I _am_ responsible, and. I'm sorry about this whole mess," Internally, Finite was just as stressed as ever. _I also. uh. kind of_ really _wanna remain unthwacked, but I am... not holding out hope for that one!_

The penguin turned away to ponder for a bit. "Hm... usually people only apologize AFTER they've been thwacked! Though, then again, I AM a big fan of thwacking people..." He looked over to Finite again briefly. "Eavesdroppin' on the king's illegal by the way." He then resumed his thinking aloud.

"...Wait, you're.. the _king?!_ " _...OH MAN I AM REALLY IN FOR IT NOW HUH,_

"You don't KNOW about me? You must live under a _very_ sad rock. I'm the great King Dedede, ruler of Dream Land! I'm a very mysterious and sexy handsome stunning all-powerful magnificent mighty and smart and talented and cool and swaggy king. I can't BELIEVE you haven't heard of me!"

"...I-"

"ANYWAY. About me thwacking you, still thinkin' on it. Hm..."

Unfortunately, Finite's ability to process the current kingly situation had bluescreened, so instead he thought about something else. _Hey, aren't I forgetting something...? OH YEAH-_ Finite suddenly VERY MUCH remembered that there was still a Clockwork Star careening towards the planet, and a quick glance upwards confirmed it was EXTREMELY CLOSE NOW. "U-um, so uh. Not to interrupt, BUT," He pointed up at the sky with his prior _unrelated-to-current_ panic and anxiety returning.

King Dedede didn't even look. "Oh, Kirby's taking care of it."

"Kirb-yyyyyyyy..." It took a moment for Finite to realize why that name was familiar. _Didn't Marx say something about a guy named..._ _...WOW! OK! I AM REALLY,_ _ **REALLY**_ _IN FOR IT NOW!_

A new Waddle Dee, holding a spear and clad with a blue bandana stepped forward (and into Finite's attention), looking up at the Clockwork Star as it inched ever so much closer. "Aaand in a couple moments..."

Finite stared at the Clockwork Star awkwardly, everything seeming weirdly silent for a moment.

...And then the entire thing _burst to pieces in a deafening explosion!_

"...there it is...!" the bandana-wearing Waddle Dee said, with vague triumph.

A tiny light glimmered in the distance, soon flitting into sight and revealing itself as a little pink puffball riding a star. It landed on the ground with a polite plunk, and the puffball hopped off of it and did a little victory dance.

...Meanwhile, Finite was absolutely terrified (and rightfully so.) His ears laid flat against his head as he watched the deafeningly loud spectacle of Clockwork Star remains violently crashing to the ground all around the now-entirely evacuated town. _WHAT,_

King Dedede waited a minute for the crashing to die down before turning back around to face Finite. "OKAY, so I have made up my royal mind and made my royal decision. First things first! I will NOT thwack you with my hammer. BUT. I can't just let you get off scot-free."

"...Yeah. Okay. Fair," Finite mumbled with resignation. _I think I'm about to lose it actually? I think I'm going to have a mental breakdown or something right now? Oh my god I am way too exhausted for this I am just going to process this LATER I need to PLEASE just focus on what's happening right NOW._..

"Now. I am a very kind and merciful king, but in some situations, like this one, more severe measures must be taken."

Finite steeled himself. _Here it comes, I guess... I'm probably gonna have to get used to dungeon life, huh...?_

"SO, LISTEN UP! In order to make up for nearly getting the planet destroyed, you. Will have. To make me, not one, but _TWO_ apology cakes. I meant three."

"..."

"..."

"............. _huh?_ "

"Whaddaya mean 'huh?' That too much for you? Can't handle making a little bit a' apology cake? It's legal mandate for _anyone_ who breaks the law! Especially if that law is 'do not blow up the planet.'"

Finite blinked. "I. That's not... I mean. Doesn't that seem kind of... uh. mild?" _Wow, I am absolutely tempting fate here, but like, I should probably be doing at least like a zillion billion years of community service or something?_

"Well, gee, if you wanted me to make the punishment worse, you could've just said so!" Finite was admittedly, not the best at detecting sarcasm, but he was absolutely _certain_ King Dedede was not being sarcastic there. "Four cakes then. Note that the punishment is worse for YOU, not me. I'm the one who gets to eat cake."

Finite decided that further questioning would maybe be a bad idea. "I-. Okay."

From beside Finite, an unfamiliar, chipper, and VERY childlike voice offered an inquisitive greeting. "Hi?"

Finite turned to the owner of the voice, and very nearly leapt ten feet into the air. The little puffball from earlier was just... standing there. The puffball who apparently just SINGLE-HANDEDLY DESTROYED A CLOCKWORK STAR. Finite wasn't even sure HOW.

The little pink puffball politely offered a Maxim Tomato, seemingly oblivious to Finite's mortal terror.

"I. UH. I'm... good, thanks...! I-"

The bandana-clad Waddle Dee from earlier quietly interrupted Finite's stammering. "He's a baby. Just take the tomato."

Finite wasn't sure if that was the intention, but the Waddle Dee's words felt like an order than a suggestion. Plus, he was more alarmed than ever. _A_ BABY _CAUSED THAT EXPLOSION?_

Despite his fears, he slowly and cautiously he accepted the tomato, taking a small bite out of it as the puffball innocently watched intensely. Instantly, the scratch on Finite's face was healed, as if it was never there. "Uhm, thanks..."

"No prob!" the puffball said cheerily, doing a little twirl. "I'm Kirby!"

Before Finite could even think of a response, King Dedede already had interjected. "Man, Kirby, next time you have'ta let me take care some of the big stuff, will ya'? I mean, come on! This was easy peasy!"

"Sorry," Kirby replied with a sheepish smile. He then looked over to the Waddle Dee and waved with a great big smile. "Oh, hi, Bandee!"

 _I THINK I MIGHT BE DEATHLY AFRAID OF THESE PEOPLE._ Finite decided to shift his thoughts elsewhere (as he does,) only to realize with rising discomfort that Shimmer Something was no longer in the crater (and nowhere else to be seen.) _Hm. That's... not good!_ "Uh, not to interrupt, but I do not know where my evil ca-...Clockwork Star went,"

King Dedede shrugged. "Eh, I wouldn't worry about it too much. If he causes problems again, well, I'll just wallop him a second time! And there will _probably_ not be a third time after that. But if there is? Well, I'll just wallop him a THIRD time! And there will probably not be a _fourth_ time after that, but IF THERE IS..."

Before Finite could get TOO lost in listening to King Dedede's endless spiel, he was suddenly pulled to reality by hearing a DIFFERENT voice in the distance. This one was... less unfamiliar - also sounding very out of breath. (Vaguely, Finite noticed that the Waddle Dee with the bandana was now clutching his spear with sudden intensity... scary.)

"Ah- apologies, apologies, I'm a bit late, we couldn't land too close but we arrived as soon as we saw th-" The newcomer stopped in the middle of their sentence. Finite couldn't be certain, as the person's face was mostly obscured by a scarf and hood, but what he COULD see along with the voice he was near-certain he knew who this was... and it seemed they realized who Finite was, as well.

The newcomer - Magolor - blinked in shock. "...Finite?" (From the side, Finite could hear the bandana-wearing Waddle Dee loudly mutter "WAIT, THEY _KNOW_ EACH OTHER?!" while Kirby greeted him enthusiastically.)

There was a lot of things going through Finite's head right now, including, 'oh WOW two college friends in the past couple days!' and 'oh GOD, BAD TIMING,' but the only thing he ended up saying was "...how'd you know my-"

Magolor's frantic, confused questioning cut Finite off. "WheeEERE _WERE_ YOU? When- What are-"

Dedede helpfully decided to non-answer for Finite. "Oh wow, Magolor! Haven't seen you since the whole Jambastion thing. Anyway, we got the situation taken care of! This guy DOES have to bake me five apology cakes. Which is really good because I am in the mood for some apology cakes."

... _the number went up._ Finite flatly thought to himself.

Magolor paused, their eyes then widening with realization. "Wait, wait, wait, hold on-" He turned to face Finite, struck with disbelief. " _You_ were responsible for... this?!"

"...Uhhh... I... I was...-"

" _HOW IN ALL OF THE GAMBLE GALAXY DID YOU BUILD AN ENTIRE CLOCKWORK STAR?!_ "

"Two, actually!" King Dedede casually corrected, as if it was a completely normal thing to say. Magolor was visibly about to _lose it._

Hesitantly, Finite retrieved a messy binder of blueprints from his cape and showed it to Magolor. _Hm. How to explain to your old college friend that you haven't seen in years that you impulsively grabbed some random blueprints while being tossed like a frisbee through each and every possible dimension just because you saw what you thought was an illustration of a kitty on the front? ...wow, that's just word salad, huh._

Unfortunately, Finite didn't even have the chance to explain himself, as Magolor clearly _recognized_ this binder all-too-well. "Hey, wait a minute- those are _mine!_ Those vanished, like, a few months ago! G-gimme that!" Magolor swiped the binder from Finite who didn't even have the chance to protest, hastily checking to make sure everything was all in order. "How the _hell_ did you even pull this off in that amount of time!?"

'Bandee', who was still on guard, pointed his spear accusingly in Magolor's general direction. "WAIT, HOLD ON THERE, _BUDDY_! Just why did YOU have Clockwork Star blueprints, huh!?" Then his voice turned from accusatory to baffled. "...and why are they... written in crayon?"

Magolor swiftly shut the binder. "N-nevermind the crayon- Look, they were recreated from the Haltmann Works Company's back during that whole... thing. Ideally, I would've just taken the original blueprints, but those got caught in the destruction. I was under the impression only the Ancients had the technology to build Clockwork Stars, but _apparently,_ " He made sure to stare daggers into Finite as he said this part, "-I was wrong. Point is, I've got nothing to hide."

"Yeah, likely story, _Magolor._ Why do you NEED those blueprints so bad, huh? What could someone like _you_ use an all-powerful wish-granter for, HUH?"

Finite glanced between Waddle Dee and Halcandran, deeply uncomfortable and feeling like this was maybe not an argument he should be watching even though it was (ostensibly) about _himself._

Magolor sighed, as if he'd heard that kind of accusation a billion times before. " _I'm not building a Clockwork Star!_ The reason I need these is so I can figure out _how_ people are doing this so it, you know, _doesn't happen again?_ (...But if you're just gonna spurn my attempt, I'm not sure you're _worth_ my help...)"

"UGH! There's that high and mighty attitude again! You and I both know FULLY WELL why I don't trust you!"

Kirby suddenly interrupted, sounding uncomfortable. "Magolor, Bandana Dee, please stop fighting..."

"BUT I- ...fine, Kirby..." said Bandana Dee reluctantly, lowering his spear. Magolor neglected to comment, though he shot an unreadable look towards Bandana Dee.

Finite hadn't realized until now, but he had been backing away. "I... feel like I'm missing a lot of context right now," though his words fell on deaf ears.

To no one in particular, King Dedede shrugged and said, "I did nothing to stop that." It was completely unclear what he thought about this whole thing.

Everyone stood around awkwardly, the already not-so-great vibes in the area now having taken a direct turn for the deeply unpleasant, when yet another voice from the distance broke the silence.

"Pardon our untimely arrival, we were caught up in a Super Psychokinetic Woods-related incident on our way here-" began the owner of the new voice, a dark blue puffball wearing a metallic mask; followed behind him by a group of other knights with their weapons at the ready. He was promptly cut off by King Dedede.

"Me n' Kirby took care of it! Already said this to Magolor."

The numerous newcomers stopped and actually looked around. There were _still_ Clockwork Star remains strewn about everywhere. The masked stranger's wings twitched. "I. Hm. I can see." He looked over at Magolor. "...why is _Magolor_ here?"

"Same reason as you," answered Magolor. Bandana Dee glared at him with a worrying anger, but took a deep breath and did nothing.

Somehow, despite the odds, Finite felt even more awkward than before. He glanced to the side, avoiding meeting ANYONE'S gaze. "So, uh... can I go now?"

King Dedede shrugged casually. "Eh, sure. Don't forget my cakes," though the weird knight guy seemed to have something else to say.

"Hold on, who are... you?" He scrutinized Finite with a hint of suspicion.

Finite couldn't help but notice the very sharp looking sword that this guy was still holding somewhat defensively. _...how many more people am I going to meet today that are probably maybe very good at killing me?_ "Uh. Finite,"

"That... did not tell me anything. A finite amount of what?" (The masked swordsman was the only person this entire time to pronounce "finite" correctly - the way the _word_ was pronounced.)

King Dedede interjected, "Oh! That's his name, I think. So _you're_ the one pronouncing it wrong! Anyway, he's the incident 'perpetuator', if you will. Again, he's gonna be paying _deeply_ for this whole ordeal. _Six cakes,_ Meta Knight."

"... _How is that equivalent to-_ "

Kirby piped up excitedly, interrupting Meta Knight. "Six cakes!? Where?!"

Panickedly nudging Finite, King Dedede whispered, "Alright, you get on outta here. If Kirby finds out about those cakes... well, let's just say you'll have to be making a lot more than that." He then returned to his usual (very loud) volume. "Oh, uh, nothin'!"

Kirby cast King Dedede a suspicious glance, but backed down... **for now.** Meanwhile, Meta Knight still was intently trying (and failing) to explain to King Dedede that Finite probably needed a greater punishment for _nearly destroying the planet_ (though it was an accident!), Magolor was still staring at Finite with unhappy disbelief (Finite decided maybe he'd try catching up with his other college buddy some OTHER time...) and the rest of the townspeople, having slowly filtered back in, were starting to crowd around King Dedede to sing his praises (Finite'd never been too good with crowds…)

Finite blinked. _Yeah I don't think I wanna keep being here right now._ "Well. I. Think I'm gonna. Leave, too. Uh. Bye," With that, he backed out of the gathering audience (mostly unnoticed) and ended up back in the forest. As he walked through, he caught sight of the now beaten up Super Psychokinetic Woods. He decided to take a different trail.

While he walked, he only managed to have one thing on his mind. _Hm. I don't have a house. How am I going to make seven cakes...?_

Once Finite had finally made it back to Marx's house - it wasn't a particularly _long_ trek, given that Marx's house was right at the edge of the woods - he found himself hesitating at the door. _I... I don't know if Marx is gonna want to see me again after... all of that, but... we're friends, I. think? Marx probably didn't... intentionally leave me behind,_ Taking a deep breath, he pushed those thoughts from his head and knocked.

After a few uncomfortable moments, the door creaked open to reveal Marx wrapped in an almost cartoonish amount of bandaging, crutches duct taped to either side of his body. "FINITE. What. Do you want." It wasn't so much of a question as a statement.

Finite's eyes widened with concern. "UH... ARE YOU OKAY?"

"Of COURSE I'm not okay, idiot! While I was getting back here, SOMEONE decided to clobber me with a giant hammer!"

Finite could pretty much guess who Marx was referring to. _Oh. Uh. Hm! I was... pretty lucky there, huh!_ "...wow. I'm. I'm uh. Sorry..."

"Yeah, you'd BETTER be. Why are you even HERE?!"

Finite scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Well, I was, uh... originally going to ask if you were okay lending your kitchen to me for a bit because I have to make eight apology cakes now, but, uh..." He trailed off. "And also! I. Uh. Figured I should probably, uh, clean up the... mess with the house,"

Marx began to chuckle at first, before suddenly breaking into a furious tone. "Why do you think I'd EVER want you in my sight AGAIN? You screwed up EVERYTHING for me!"

"I- I know I really messed up this time, and I'm really, really sorry- I just don't have a kitchen, and you were the only other friend I could think of- I understand if-"

"YOU **DON'T** UNDERSTAND! We're _NOT_ FRIENDS! We haven't _BEEN_ friends! I still managed to accomplish what I wanted, so why don't you **GET IT YET?!** "

"...what...?" Finite's thoughts were metaphorically a sad blue screen of death.

"Why in the ENTIRE MILKY WAY GALAXY, would I want to be friends with someone WHO _**DING-DONG DITCHED ME?!**_ " Before Finite even had the chance to reply, Marx slammed the door shut in his face.

All Finite could do was just stare at it blankly. _I... what's he talking about? Ding-dong ditched... I don't_ think _I've ever pulled that prank on anyone- is it the kind of thing to end a friendship over?_ He turned away from the door. _Wait, maybe he's referring to something else... is this about the Clockwork Star thing? D- did_ _ **I**_ _ditch HIM at some point?!_

Still frazzled, confused, and stressed, he walked away from Marx's doorstep for a little while, only stopping to sit down at the edge of the forest that he still didn't know the name of. _I still don't have anywhere to bake..._ He tried to think of some other idea. _Maybe Magolor has a kitchen- wait, wait, no, I... I burned that bridge too, huh. And I have no idea where he even stays these days..._ _I'm... not gonna be able to even make the apology cakes, am I? ...am I gonna get thwacked?_

Then, Finite heard a voice from behind him. "Hey, you look down. What's your problem?" He turned to see a Waddle Dee wearing a sling with a camera attached.

Finite sighed. "Uh... do you know how to get in contact with the king? I need to bake an apology cake, but I don't have a proper kitchen, so I... can't really do that." Finite decided to leave out the number of cakes he had to bake (nine? Was it nine? probably). He also didn't think to ask the unfamiliar Waddle Dee if _he_ had a kitchen he was willing to lend.

The Waddle Dee seemed lost in thought for a bit, before perking up. (Admittedly, Finite wasn't great at reading Waddle Dees' expressions...) "Oh! I could take you there!"

"Huh? Where?"

"To the king's castle, of course! Follow me, we're pretty close!"

"Oh, uh ok!" Finite followed along for a time, but he hadn't been prepared to be lead to... the base of a really steep mountain. "...e," He squeaked miserably. _I... I have to climb that, don't I._

The Waddle Dee pointed upwards. "At the top of this mountain, Mt. Dedede, is Castle Dedede! The castle of King Dedede, King of Dededreamland."

 _Wait, I thought it was just called Dream Land?_ "Uhm. Okay, uh. Thank you," Finite said, still looking towards the peak anxiously. "Is... there no faster way up?"

"Anytime! Name's Theodore Dee, by the way. Trade numbers? In case you have other questions about Dream Land." Theodore lifted up a very outdated looking phone.

Finite's earlier question was immediately pushed from his mind. "Oh! Um! Okay," Pulling a slip of paper and a pencil from his cape, he wrote down his phone number and traded it with the Waddle Dee who had a paper of his own. "Thanks again!"

"No problem, Finite. By the way, that IS the only way up the mountain. Have fun!"

Before Finite even got the chance to say 'WAIT HUH,' Theodore had already run off. "...how do people keep knowing my name today?" Deciding to switch his attention to more... immediate problems, Finite stared back up to the mountain. "Man. I'm really gonna have to climb this, huh."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> actionpark52: Okay, so fun fact: this and the previous chapter were originally one whole MASSIVE chapter [it would've been over 8,000 words long!] but for several reasons [up to and including it. would've been over 8,000 words long] we decided to split 'em up! Also WOW only one more chapter huh...


	7. Epilogue - Loose Ends Untying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finite deals with the cake dilemma, Magolor explains things to his talking spaceship, and Shimmer Something is... around. 
> 
> ...and in the authors notes, Comic and Deca get really emotional.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shinydecamark: EPILOGUE TIME... dang the first fic of this is finally over... i have a LOT of thoughts about this but i'll save that for the end.

By the time Finite'd reached the top, the sun was beginning to vanish over the horizon. He flopped onto the grass, before finally looking up and seeing the castle. "...I made it! Hooraaay...!" He gave a weak thumbs up to no one in particular, and then pulled himself off the ground and knocked lightly on the entrance gate.

The gate opened, and Finite was greeted by the same bandana wearing Waddle Dee from earlier... who looked very much on-guard. "Who are... wait a minute. Aren't you the Clockwork Star guy!? What are _you_ doing here?! (I don't see any cakes...)" The last part was moreso muttered to himself. He held his spear in a defensive (...Finite hoped it was defensive, at least) position... though Finite wasn't sure he'd seen this guy NOT doing that.

"AH- Um- I, uh. I'm here because I... need to come clean about something... I. I can't make the apology cakes!"

Bandana Dee raised a brow. "Huh? Why not?"

"It's. because I. Uh. Do not. Have an actual kitchen, to speak of! Or... an actual house really? I mean, I have a tent and all but- that's not exactly. 'Baking A Cake' levels of kitchen." Even Finite realized how stilted and awkward his explanation was. _Oh no oh no oh no I am fumbling this WHOLE thing. 'Levels of kitchen?'_

"...Uh-huh. You know what, how about you just come with me."

"I. Hm. Last time I was told to follow someone I had to climb an entire mountain for several hours but. Um. Okay!" _WOW, I should_ really _stop talking!_

Much to Finite's relief, Bandana Dee neglected to comment. But... even despite his spear being very _point_ edly angled towards Finite, it was clear Bandana dee's distrust was turning to pity. Which. Wasn't really a great feeling either, but hey! Better than being treated like some kind of supervillain!

As they walked in silence, Finite gawked at the elaborate hallways, some of them twisting in kind of silly and confusing directions. He almost wondered if maybe Bandana Dee was misdirecting him on purpose or something, but his own sense of direction wasn't very good so... maybe it was just Finite getting confused? Along the walls, there were several other Waddle Dees standing guard... kinda. They were more hanging out than anything, really. Finite was pretty sure he even saw a couple playing Yahtzee, not paying attention to anything else.

Finally, they reached the door to the throne room. Bandana Dee took initiative to announce their presence. "Great king! It's Bandana Dee, we have a... visitor, may we come in?"

Without a moment's worth of hesitation, King Dedede called back, "HOLD ON A SEC, GOTTA FINISH EATING THIS GIANT HOAGIE IN ONE BITE." There was a brief pause and the sound of chomping. "OK YEAH SURE, COME IN!"

"One bite...?" Finite mused with puzzlement, before being nudged through the door with the handle of Bandana Dee's spear. The throne room looked to be... somehow horrifically combined with a boxing arena? _Hm. Suddenly having second thoughts!_ _Am I going to have to have a boxing match with the king? He's- he's like two or three times my size and has a giant hammer that's like, as large as my entire body, there's no way I could-_

"OH HEY! FIDGET! You have those apology cakes done yet?" King Dedede spoke with the casualness of speaking to an old friend, but he kinda seemed to always talk like that.

"Actually, it's uh, Finite..."

Bandana Dee decided to step in. "Great King, according to him, he can't actually make them. He doesn't have a kitchen, apparently. Or a house."

Finite silently whispered a "thank you" to Bandana Dee for taking the reins of the explanation.

King Dedede blinked. "Huh? It's Dream Land! How doesn't he have a house? You can basically set up anywhere, y'know. It's not like ya' have'ta pay anything!"

"I'm, uh... not from here. or this planet, actually. I'm from Summertime Star...?" Finite tried to explain. _Also you probably shouldn't keep an oven in a tent anyway..._

"Huh. Never heard of it!"

"Oh. Okay," Finite swallowed harshly. "But, uh. I'm really sorry, I know you expected me to come in with ten apology cakes, but I came in with none, and... uh. I'm not gonna have to box you or anything, right?"

King Dedede gasped with genuine surprise. "WOW! _TEN_ APOLOGY CAKES? I only said four, but heck if I'm gonna turn down extra!"

Finite raised a paw. "I-" _Was it four?_ He just. decided to lower his paw and not ask.

"Anyway, if you don't have anywhere to bake, you can just go ahead n' use the castle kitchen! I won't mind. If anything, they'll be better! 'Cause it's _my_ kitchen. And me? I'm epic."

"WH- WOAH- seriously?! You'd let me do that?" said Finite with shocked gratitude. Bandana Dee also looked pretty surprised but... less positively.

"Yeah, sure! Don't break anything though, 'cause then you actually WILL have to fight me!" King Dedede chuckled as if he just told a fun joke to a pal. "Haha, just jokin'. It wouldn't even count as a fight!"

"I. YOUR MESSAGE IS CRYSTAL CLEAR!" stammered Finite with alarm, and with that, he exited the room perhaps a bit hastier than necessary, off to bake the cakes (and preferably not get curb-stomped by a hammer-wielding penguin.)

As Finite disappeared out of the room, Bandana Dee looked over to Dedede with a questioning gaze. "So, why _did_ you let him use your kitchen anyway...? You don't let ANY strangers use it- Especially not ones who just caused a big disaster!"

Dedede shrugged casually. "Well, like I said, usually, they don't apologize til _after_ they've been clobbered. They either get beaten up by us and make up for it once everything's blown over, or they _never_ apologize." He paused. "And we _both_ know what happens to most of the ones who never apologize."

"...yeah,"

"AND also, like, TEN CAKES! Completely unprompted! What can I say? I'm a very hungry king!"

Suddenly, Finite returned, looking sheepish. "SO! Um. I just realized I do not know my way around this castle at all whatsoever!"

"OH YEAH! Forgot about that. Bandana Dee, could you take him to the kitchen and make sure he doesn't accidentally lock himself in the fridge or somethin'? Happens to me all the time."

"No need to ask me twice, great king," said Bandana Dee with a slight sigh, then setting off with Finite to lead him to the kitchen.

**...**

With a tired sigh, Magolor passed through the door to the Lor Starcutter. He was pretty scuffed up from a violent encounter with Super Psychokinetic Woods, which really was not helping his current exhausted and _incredibly_ confused state. _I feel like I'm about to pass out..._

The Lor, as expected, noticed Magolor's disheveled state pretty much immediately. "What happened out there? You look terrible."

"Super Psychokinetic Woods." Magolor answered flatly. He silently prayed to himself that JUST maybe, HOPEFULLY the Lor already knew fully well what he was referring to.

There was a moment of silence. "...What?" A couple beeps sounded as the Lor seemed to quickly check its encyclopedia. "Magolor, I'm sorry, but _literally what in the hell are you talking about?_ "

Magolor buried his face in his paws as he felt those futile hopes from before get completely and utterly shattered. "It's... It's uh... Whispy Woods is friends with a NESP, and they magically fused into one guy and went on a rampage...? I think he's still out there." _Trust me, Lor, I am just as confused as you. Probably moreso._

Whatever conversation could've possibly arose had been killed by Magolor's ridiculous explanation before it could even happen. "...Sorry I asked." The Lor finally said, after an agonizing period of quiet between both parties. "Actually _genuinely_ sorry. I didn't want to know that."

Magolor paused as he laid down on the cold hard floor because it was faster than getting into a bed. Then he remembered that he... forgot to bring up the entire incident he actually went out for in the first place. "Oh, yeah, right, the thing with the Clockwork Star..."

"I was kinda wondering if you were going to explain that or not."

"You know, I'm honestly not entirely sure what happened there myself. Kirby obviously took care of, uh..." He briefly made a sort of swooshing gesture with his paws to indicate 'giant Clockwork Star hurtling towards the planet on a collision course', "...but aside from that, I don't even _know._ There were _two_ clockwork stars, apparently! Actually, I'm, like, a hundred percent certain I saw the remains of a... really tiny one on my way out, so maybe three; Meta Knight and Bandana Dee showed up just to... accuse me of stuff, I guess, and I saw an old 'friend' from college I haven't seen in five years. Because he was missing. For five years."

The Lor paused. "Hold on. Processing..." Likely just for show, they displayed an oversized loading bar on their screen. Then, the greatly delayed reaction. "...There were _how many_ Clockwork Stars?"

" _My thoughts exactly!_ "

The Lor made a digitized sigh. "Okay. Let's focus on one thing at a time." There was a pause that made Magolor think he probably wasn't going to like the topic the Lor was going to choose to focus on. "You said you saw an old friend there?"

Magolor groaned. "Of course _that's_ the part you're focusing on." _Please god tell me my talking spaceship isn't about to try playing therapist for me_ _ **again.**_

"So. Did you talk to him?"

"...yes."

"And what happened?"

"Why does it matter?" Magolor already knew the answer to that fully well; he was just deflecting.

Just as Magolor expected, the Lor went on to reply,"Because you NEED to make friends OTHER than me and Kirby's gang." They paused. "And I don't know if you even consider Kirby and co. your friends."

Magolor glanced to the side. "I mean- of course I do! ...Kirby anyway. And I guess King Dedede doesn't want me dead, either. I think."

"You... think? Or you _know?_ "

Magolor neglected to answer. _I never know what King Dedede is thinking at any given time. I literally have no idea. And besides, Bandana Dee is always hanging around him..._

The Lor waited for a response for a couple minutes. "Okay, I see you're trying to just dodge the conversation I guess." Magolor just KNEW that if the Lor had eyes to roll, they would be. "Maybe just... talk about your friend and what happened? At the very least explain why you just backed out. And the answer better not be that you just weren't interested in trying!"

Well. The Lor really wasn't gonna let this go, huh. Oh boy. "...Lor. This person was the one who _built_ the Clockwork Stars. Also robbed me, _apparently._ " Hopefully that would be enough for them to get the idea. "Either way, college was _five years ago._ It wasn't really a good time for me and I'm not really interested in clinging to it. Especially 'cause the only other person I actually had extended social interactions with there was _Marx._ "

"...Ah." The Lor went quiet. "Forget I asked, then. Sorry." There was a bit more awkward silence, of course. Magolor had grown pretty used to that by this point. "You still need to get an actual social life though. Just saying."

"But I have-" Magolor decided against having _this_ conversation again, because he knew it would end up the same old 'you probably shouldn't lie to your talking spaceship who you've been living in for a year about how many friends you have' talk.

Though, as the silence persisted, Magolor's thoughts began to stray. _I... still didn't get answers as to how- ...Finite, even got those blueprints. He goes missing for five years, then completely unnoticed manages to steal something that only disappeared five_ months _ago. Where'd he even GO after that...?_

Too bad for Magolor's curiosity, talking to Finite was probably the _last_ thing he wanted to do right now. The first thing he wanted to do was crawl into bed, go to sleep, recover from his wounds, and _not_ think about any of today. Especially Finite.

Or, Jakayde, maybe. The day was blending together and Magolor was really not sure why he'd even thought of a different name at all.

**...**

Shimmer Something was wandering through the forest - it PROBABLY had a name, but he didn't care - cursing his luck. "Can't believe it, meow. I'm in disrepair, the town'll probably call on their STUPID king again if I try retaking it, Thompson Dee's nowhere to be found..." he muttered to himself, the little amount of fur he had bristling.

He then shouted towards the heavens, "And if that weren't enough, SUPER PSYCHOKINETIC WOODS DECIDED TO COLLIDE WITH ME AT MACH FIVE! _WITH A GIANT MACHETE!_ " He sat down by a bush and sighed. "Meow. GREAT. As if my day couldn't get any worse. ...Dark Infinity, I know you're out here. Come out."

The dark entity's obnoxiously gravelly voice echoed through the woods. He was probably throwing it to try sounding more powerful and menacing, but it wasn't really working. "...AW, SERIOUSLY?" He pathetically floated into view. "SO. WHAT ARE _YOU_ DOING HERE? YOU LOOK LIKE AN ABSOLUTE WRECK, BY THE WAY."

"It PAINS meow to say it, but as it turns out, hammers, cowards, and Clockwork Stars are a TERRIBLE mix. What are _you_ doing, I wonder?"

"WOW. TOLD YA' YOU SHOULD'VE TAKEN MY OFFER."

Shimmer Something hissed in disgust. "Oh? What could YOU do that I couldn't, meow? What did you explain to me earlier, again... you tried possessing that idiot for, what, five years? Can't you tell when the plan's a bust? At that point you should've just _let him die_ and tried something else."

Though he would never admit it himself, Dark Infinity was clearly visibly appalled at the suggestion. "That's... I'M AN INCREDIBLY EVIL DARK BEING OF COURSE, AND I'M NOT SAYING I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE IDEA OF FINITE BEING DEAD or anything, of course not, but... YOU DON'T GET IT! I CAN SENSE A GREAT POWER WITHIN HIM, THAT I DESERVE TO HAVE! J-JUST KILLING HIM WOULD BE A WASTE! AND, Y'KNOW... IF HE WAS DEAD, YOU WOULDN'T'VE EVEN BEEN BUILT, SO-"

"Great power, meow? You said you can sense he has 'great power?' Be honest here. What do you actually sense?"

"...I mean, I CAN'T SEE THE EXACTS, BUT-"

"Well, I can, and I'm telling you it's been a pointless gambit from the start. If someone like him had to constantly be reminded he even had INFINITE POWER, how would someone like you, who thought whatever this guy had was worthwhile- even when you don't know WHAT his actual powers are- how would _you_ be smart enough?"

"...WHAT THE HECK DOES THAT MEAN?"

Shimmer Something yawned. "You're an idiot's what it means."

"I- SCREW YOU! I'M LEAVING. I'LL FIGURE SOMETHING OUT... EVENTUALLY. EVEN IF IT DOESN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH FINITE. GOODBYE, YOU... FREAK," Dark Infinity vanished into the woods, very obviously offended by Shimmer Something's remarks and doing the worst possible job of hiding it.

"Meow. See you, too." Now that Dark Infinity had left, however, Shimmer Something once again found himself with nothing to do. He stretched, mumbling to himself, "I wonder if there's anywhere nearby with a Wi-Fi connection..."

Then there was a different, far less gravelly (and in Shimmer Something's opinion, comparatively less obnoxious) voice. "A lot of people in the forest today, huh?"

Shimmer Something glanced over disinterestedly to see a Waddle Dee who'd happened upon him. "Do you... not know who, or WHAT I am?"

"Oh no, don't worry! I know a lot about you. My brother told me, before, y'know. He was launched into the sunset via hammer."

"...Thompson's brother, then. What do you want?"

"Well, I had a deal for you... a _proper_ deal! With something in return, for you." The Waddle Dee leaned closer. "There's a cafe nearby that doesn't ask a lot of questions. It's got guest Wi-Fi. We can talk there, yeah?"

"...Meow. Know what? I'll bite. Take me there."

The two headed off, the glint of the Waddle Dee's camera shining in the shadows of the forest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> actionpark52: Okay, I'll go first because I'm usually not the most... wordy (I think, anyway...) So. To Obtain Infinite Power! Finally done! This has been such an experience to outline and work on and it's so SO important to me and Deca... The initial RP happened around October of 2018; little did we know just how much it'd become.
> 
> The Finiteverse as a whole has gotten me through so much, and to finally be realizing it in fic format is just... Well, it's a lot, that's for sure! I'm gonna cut this off here as Deca has put a lot more to words than I have- but just know that if you've been supporting us through that whole time, or even just now found out about the Finiteverse- thank you so, so, much. You have no idea how much people viewing and enjoying our work means to us!
> 
> shinydecamark: ...okay, i'm gonna try to keep this from getting too explosively long because this is only the first fic, but i could honestly talk for hours and hours about the emotional significance of this story (and the ones to come) to me.
> 
> like the summary said, this is a loose adaptation of a roleplay gone off the rails that eventually evolved into an entire kirbyverse. finite was an oc meant to be a one-off casefic villain, but nothing about his personality ended up villainous, and after his introduction we kept repeatedly bringing him back for future roleplays as a joke. over time, he started developing as a character in strange directions, gaining an entire backstory and character arc, and eventually taking the spotlight for himself entirely by accident.
> 
> what was meant to be a one-off joke thing that could be easily forgotten or retconned entirely from our rp canon became the source of a long and bizarre storyline in a headcanon kirby universe built entirely around our whims in the moment, and as it all spiralled out of proportion it became something near and dear to my heart as silly and awkward and impulsive as it all was.
> 
> everything in the finiteverse has spiralled outward from this one original roleplay, even as much as this fic adaptation has changed from the very first version of events in order to fit with future happenings. if you had told me even a few months ago that it would have been successfully adapted into a fanfic, with more to come, i would never have believed you. in fact, if it weren't for actionpark52's determination to get this done, i'm not sure it would've happened at all. [actionpark52: awh shucks thank u :3] it's still surreal for me to think about.
> 
> the last thing i'll say is that everything has just barely gotten started. there's so many characters you've yet to meet, so many strange events you've yet to see... and as of yet, neither me nor comic even know how it's all going to end yet! you'll just have to wait and see.
> 
> thank you for reading, and i hope you'll stick around for future installments.
> 
> [much love from both of us!!!!! thank you again!]


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